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A quick word with Dirk Melzer
Cost of ownership is an important topic throughout the ID value chain. Production equipment will make up for a substantial part of any new system, so we caught up with Dirk Melzer of the family-run business Melzer maschinenbau, to find out how to best address the topic of ensuring Return on Investment.
When discussing the total cost of an ID project, how does Melzer argue the investment in the production line a customer has to calculate?
DM: We pride ourselves in having a very close relationship with our clients. Melzer has been successful in this business for 60 years thanks to our customers all over the world. When it comes to Cost of Ownership, Melzer is very fast to react to the requirements of the market. After analyzing the needs of our customers, we can implement them to the highest standards. Most important for the Return on Investment (ROI) is a high yield rate: avoided waste pays back the investment into the machine after a very short period of time. Additionally, a low number of operators, low energy consumption and little space requirement further accelerate the ROI.
How important is the topic of maintenance for Melzer and how can you offer adequate service packages throughout the lifetime of a product, such as an ID card?
DM: Our clients benefit from lowest maintenance costs, thanks to our open design and mostly maintenance free components. Also, most of our clients have their own local maintenance team, which makes a lot of sense and keeps the costs for the system upkeep down. Our goal is that we enable our clients to do their own maintenance well, by offering intense training on site. As a result, almost no service packages are needed. Of course we offer instant support, should the customer need it!
Melzer is known for its quality and its modular design. In your experience, have these characteristics been the core differentiator when going into tender?
DM: In our experience, the main differentiator when it comes to our portfolio, is the degree of automation we can offer. This really helps to keep the costs down. Training, wages and supervising of operators is a major concern in high security document production and its environment. Nevertheless, the operators normally make the mistakes! So, automation is the key and overall, yes, we believe that quality is always the best investment!
How can you help your clients in the long term to keep the Total Cost of Ownership low?
DM: At Melzer we believe strongly in our design capabilities and really, our good track record and market position has reassured us that strong design, in the long run, breeds success. It also keeps cost down, just like our high quality, low maintenance components. It’s not so different than with a lot of things we purchase privately: Cheap, most of the time, turns out to be expensive if you have to go back for repairs, parts or external maintenance. The best way we help our clients, is to always work to the highest standards and to share our knowledge with the local teams on site, so that the upkeep can take place there.