Manufacturers are looking to outsource the maintenance of their factory assets to bolster their plant operations against recession. This is according to the results of a new report by Advanced Technology Services Inc. (ATS) conducted with Nielsen Research. That trend is an indicator of growth for ATS, which pioneered the factory asset service business two decades ago, and today is the leading company providing managed services for production equipment maintenance and industrial parts repair for manufacturers.
In the ATS survey of 100 U.S. senior manufacturing executives, with titles of CEO, CIO, vice president and plant manager, a majority of those surveyed – approximately two-thirds – say they would outsource maintenance as a hedge against a downturn in the economy.
Bellwether manufacturers like Caterpillar, Eaton, Honeywell and others have already adopted this recession-hedging strategy in many plants. While staying focused on their core competencies, these companies have outsourced the care and maintenance of their factory assets. For example, downtime is costly, which, according to the ATS survey, costs manufacturers on average $22,000 per minute when production stops.
According to ATS president Jeffrey Owens, "When the nation faces an economic slowdown, manufacturers seek strategies to improve productivity and profitability and turn to outsourcing non-core functions to care for their most valuable assets. That's where we add value and help contribute to our customers' bottom line."
