Buying Strategy – Which Welding Robot Is Right for Your Shop?

The research, education and end-to-end buying process on which particular spool welding robot is the right fit for your fabrication shop is a big decision.

In a business like energy, oil & gas, shipbuilding, offshore or heavy industrial contracting the manager of quality control, CFO, project manager and regularly the company owner are just some of the professionals who are now part of the complex SWR decision making process.

A significant investment in a spool welding robot must now be approached strategically. Many buying evaluation teams are now approaching this by using a risk vs. value purchasing decision matrix. There are many different features, benefits, goals and outcomes you can plot onto the matrix. Here are five unique considerations to review if your organization wants to strategically approach buying an SWR using a matrix value process.

Footprint – An SWR that offers the smallest footprint in the industry allows for a flexible business approach as it can fit anywhere in a shop without the need to change the current shop workflow like some systems do that are based on a fixed design, or rail-based system. This ensures a changeable custom layout that will meet the unique needs a shop now, and in the future.

Quality – Not all SWR’s are of the same quality. Weld quality needs to be proven to buyers, especially on the root pass. The quality of a product matters; a shops efficiency, productivity, down time and business success is critical and a business needs to buy right or end up paying more in the long run. Remember that old saying, “pay now, or pay later”, it still holds true.

Multiple Positioners – An SWR must have the flexibility to integrate with multiple positioners. Typically, this will including Team Industries, Profax, and Preston Eastin as examples. The robot should have the ability to integrate with up to 5 positioners determined by you, for maximum productivity and arc-on time.

Support – Simply stated, an investment in an SWR should include world-class support. So many companies talk about having great support, but very few companies support you they way you deserve to be supported and help improve your business. Do your homework and look closely at case studies and customer testimonials. Great customer feedback is always the strongest indicator.

Focus – Being 100% focused on a spool welding robot product matters. Vendors will typically spread their product portfolio across multiple product lines with 5 or 10 different areas of focus. This approach is inherent with challenges that unfortunately trickle down to the users of the products. When a vendor sharpens and refines their focus on creating one really awesome product, they avoid all the distractions of building, managing and selling multiple products.

Let’s connect and start the conversation around the buying process of Spool Welding Robots and help you to become more efficient and profitable.