By Nicholas Schur and Oliver Nobels
The concept of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is an exceedingly important phrase in heavy industry and mineral processing plants. TCO, also referred to as Life Cycle Costs (LCC), is the study of cradle-to-grave costs of capital equipment operating in heavy-industry. Many studies from these industries have shown that the initial cost for capital equipment is usually one of the lowest marginal factors for TCO.
Slurry pumping is a prime example of procured capital equipment where operation and maintenance (O&M) costs rapidly overtake and exceed the initial procurement cost. Slurry pumps are designed to wear over time due to the highly abrasive nature of the product being pumped. Schurco Slurry® pumps will readily pump sand, gravel, rocks, lime, black and white liquor, coal, tailings, and worse. Despite harsh installation environments, our products last significantly longer than ANSI and non-slurry rated alternatives due to the hardness (greater than 650 Brinell) and elasticity (using elastomers) of our wear parts.
Slurry pumping can quickly become a loss leader, though, if a manufacturer does not maintain inventory and deliver spare parts at reasonable cost to the customer. It is our priority to excel in this area and deliver the lowest possible TCO to our customers. Our business model is simple; maintain a high level of inventory and deliver the high-quality spare parts that our customers can expect.
Many of our customers not only use Schurco Slurry® units but also operate Warman® slurry pumps. This makes partnering with us additionally beneficial because Schurco® parts are fully interchangeable with Warman® parts. All parts have been reverse engineered using state of the art FARO® technology with 2D and 3D modeling. Our rigorous manufacturing process guarantees our parts are dimensionally, hydraulically, and metallurgically interchangeable. In 2021, we built a pump test facility at our Jacksonville, Florida factory that now allows us to certify Schurco® impellers against OEM performance.
For decades, the slurry pump industry cost model has been to deliver slurry pumps to end users at or below cost, while deriving exorbitant profit from the inevitable spare parts sales. Schurco Slurry® parts are priced such that we will secure long-term stable business partners with our competitive cost, high quality and consistent availability. By understanding the nature of our customers’ processes and considering the need for viable and sustainable partnerships, we hope to earn and retain business through consistently delivering a valuable product cycle after cycle.
For more information on how to minimize your yearly operating and maintenance costs by partnering with Schurco Slurry®, we invite you to contact our factory today!
(904) 365 – 6840
sales@schurcoslurry.com
https://schurcoslurry.com/
