Second hand machinery sales up on auto boom

Long lead times for some types of machinery are driving tier 1 automotive suppliers onto the second hand market, according to David Heaselgrave, marketing and commercial director for Worcestershire-based injection moulding machine supplier Plastic Machinery Sales.

“There’s a massive shortage of equipment for automotive suppliers,” explained Heaselgrave, whose company sells both new and second hand machines. “Tier 1 moulders are fighting over old kit at auction despite it being costly to run and not fully up to the job,” he added.

An industry veteran, who wanted to remain nameless, agreed: “I have heard that some suppliers of larger machines are struggling with orders. Part of the problem is that automotive manufacturers make their decision incredibly late.”

Engel UK managing director Graeme Herlihy also concurred, in part: “It’s the speed of the automotive industry that’s the problem,” he explained. However, he pointed out that “lead times on machinery are not as bad as they were”.

“Big tier 1 automotive suppliers talk about going second hand but generally can’t find the equipment they need – they have very specific requirements.”

Herlihy added that the pace of the recovery initially left people scrabbling to keep up. “The speed out of the nosedive took people by surprise,” he said.

“But delivery times are now back to where they were. There’s a six to nine month lead time for machines over 2,000 tonnes.”

Mike Bate, managing director of Krauss Maffei UK, said he’d not heard of any problems with tier 1 automotive suppliers. “Everyone leaves things to the last minute, but that’s nothing new.

“We’ve had a fantastic year to date, mainly on the bigger machines, on the back of growth in the automotive sector.”

Bate said that orders were still arriving and that there were no signs of the automotive slowing down any time soon.

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