Komatsu NZ is discussing with its customers several reasons why they should choose and stick with Komatsu’s Genuine Undercarriage – foremost being component wear-life and reduction in undercarriage overall cost-per-hour.
Elle Schutte, Komatsu NZ’s National Aftermarket Marketing Manager, said Komatsu continuously works in partnership with its customers in comparing life cycle data for Genuine Undercarriage.
The results back up the theory behind why Komatsu Genuine Undercarriage components last longer.
“Customers can find a cheaper up-front alternative appealing, but that doesn’t always equate to value over the machine’s service life,” said Elle.
“If your machine has a failure and can’t operate or doesn’t achieve the desired life, that initial saving can erode and lead to a higher operating cost.
“We want the best outcomes for our customers, so we want to be active in helping them understand the true cost while working efficiently,” she said.
“Together we gather data to understand the differences and how it impacts the customer. Ultimately, we want our customers to make a wise decision and maximise their profits.
“That won’t happen if you lose productivity and uptime due to undercarriage failure or premature change-outs due to poor wear life.
“This is the risk with the cheaper alternatives,” said Elle.
Komatsu NZ conducts regular free detailed inspections, measuring bush thickness, link, and shoe height and roller shell thickness as part of its Genuine Undercarriage support.
“Customers can rely on us to monitor their undercarriage condition and be proactive in avoiding any potential problems ahead of time,” said Elle.
“That way, downtime is minimised over the wear life.
“We want the best outcomes for our customers, so we want to be active in helping them understand the true cost while working efficiently.”
Elle said that when a Komatsu undercarriage specialist inspects a machine, the company keeps that data in its Undercarriage Management System (UMS) for overview reporting.
“This provides a precise picture of the state of each inspected machine’s undercarriage and removes the guesswork from a customer’s machinery investment.
“We can then work with our customers to plan future change-outs and conduct cost-per-hour analysis,” she said.
“The inspections give us visibility for what can be done to prevent any unplanned downtime through premature failures.”
Elle said Komatsu Genuine Undercarriages offer a greater hardness depth than the cheaper aftermarket alternatives.
“Greater hardness depth in Komatsu’s quality manufactured undercarriage components equals longer component life.
“Using Genuine means less downtime, parts purchases and labour costs through fewer undercarriage replacements over the machine’s lifecycle, reducing the overall operating cost of the machine.”
Elle said that while Komatsu has confidence that its Genuine Undercarriage is the best option for our customers, “we also understand that there are situations where our customers might require the support of options in reducing their operating costs.
“This could include the machine being at the end of its life, working in a very light-duty application or unknown future prospects for the machine.”
For these customers, Komatsu is now offering a lower-cost option for select construction excavators.
Its General Construction (GC) tracks are designed for use in lower impact applications while still giving excellent wear life, the reassurance of buying quality Komatsu Genuine Undercarriage and the back up and support of an OEM.
While undercarriage wear can’t be prevented – it’s something all users must accept – Elle said Komatsu’s undercarriage technical experts can offer plenty of valuable advice on managing undercarriage wear.
“The key to reducing your undercarriage costs is monitoring the wear and overall maintenance of the undercarriage,” she said.