Equipment Appraisal Blog | Understanding Machinery Appraisals

What's considered in a packaging equipment appraisal?

Posted by Equipment Appraisal Services on Tue, May 24, 2016 @ 11:30 AM

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When you're considering having a packaging equipment appraisal completed for your business, you may not know what kind aspects of the equipment comes into play and what importance it has on the final machinery valuation. Is a dent in a machine or a worn part going to raise serious concerns with your equipment appraiser? In this piece, we'll discuss what the most common aspects are considered during a packaging equipment appraisal.

What aspects are considered in a packaging equipment appraisal

  • The age of the equipment: Though you might think this would be the first place you may lose or gain value, it's not actually as important as you may think. Industrial packaging equipment can retain its value over many years and is designed for long duty cycles over the years. That means that it won't lose value as quickly when compared to consumer-grade equipment and may have a higher value than what you would expect.

  • The condition of the equipment: The equipment's condition can actually play a much more important role in the final equipment valuation, including several areas discussed below. Machinery that has been well maintained and has versatile configuration possibilities has the best chance of retaining its value. You may want to consider doing touch-up painting, removing dents or repairing cosmetic issues prior to selling equipment, but these types of issues often don't affect the final value nearly as much as the machine's internal condition, unless they show signs of abuse or poor care.

  • Any needed repairs: Before you have a packaging equipment appraisal performed, you may want to make sure that any needed repairs are made. You'll also want to make sure that machinery that has had needed repairs put off has a good inspection performed at the time of the repair. During this inspection, the service technician can report on any related systems that have been affected due to the delay in service and can ensure all the related components that have been damaged due to the delay are repaired. This helps bring the equipment back to its best operating condition.

  • Regular maintenance records: Having regular maintenance performed on your machinery helps extend its lifespan and value, but you need to be able to prove that the maintenance has been performed. Though a regular maintenance log is the easiest way to provide this documentation, you can also use service records from outside shops, or receipts for work performed or parts and supplies purchased for maintenance tasks.

  • Excessive wear and tear or other signs of abuse: If a piece of machinery shows signs of excessive wear and tear, abuse, bends, dents, cracks or poorly-made repairs, it will lose value. Machinery that has been abused will not perform well, may be unsafe or can fail much earlier than comparable equipment that has been well maintained.

  • Current market conditions: Is your industry currently in a boom or bust cycle? Though many kinds of packaging equipment can be retrofitted for other industries, the current market conditions in your industry can affect the valuation of your machinery, especially if the machinery is specific to that industry.

By knowing what will be looked at in a packaging equipment appraisal, it becomes much easier to judge how well or poorly your equipment values may end up. When you look at these particular aspects and keep them in mind, you can maximize your equipment values.

Tags: packaging equipment appraisal