The recent recession has hit most businesses especially those associated with the housing market from building supplies to the equipment that helped build those houses. The heavy machinery that moved the ground that moved the materials that dug up the earth, to transporting the workers, pretty much finding themselves in sales rooms across the country or stored in some warehouse. But not all machinery slowed down to a stop, some mini machines still had a life in recession time.
Mini excavators, diggers and similar machines still had an afterlife, because the big builders were no longer building houses, as mortgages could not accessed, but small builders soon found themselves doing extensions and renovations, as home owners found themselves making the most of their own home. Of course small builders tend not to have big equipment, but do have mini equipment such as diggers and excavators, that they can tow on a trailer behind their four by four.
Builders were now going to auction house and buying these mini excavators knowing that the parts for these machines were easy to get and cheaper than you would expect. This now meant that parts suppliers for these mini diggers and excavators were now doing OK from this downturn, but not to the level that replaced the parts for larger machines that are much more expensive.
For those new to the mini excavator market, will be surprised at the amount of manufacturers out there. In fact in some countries there is a larger choice of mini digger manufacturers than motor manufacturers, making the range of parts needed to be stocked huge, from digger idlers to excavator rubber tracks. In the UK, many part suppliers have to sock parts for over 200 machines and what’s more, because businesses come to a stop is these machines breakdown, these part suppliers need to have shipped much quicker than they would for a typical car part.
The parts most needed from a breakdown are those associated with the undercarriage and so most suppliers advertise the fact they sell undercarriage parts. Most undercarriages are simple in structure, but are held together with parts that should last sometime, so brand and reputation for strength is a major factor in deciding what part to buy. This tends to be more critical in nature in the mini excavator market than the normal car part market, which uses aftermarket spares all the time.
We can see mini diggers and excavators in all sorts of situations now, as more come on the market and the public awareness of these machines that they can be owned by small businesses and alike has increased. The good and cheap supplies of parts, completes the picture, now all we need is the building market back to give the larger machines some more work.
