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7 Reasons Commodity Casters Are Sabotaging Your Material Handling Carts

Pallet jack 2
Pallet jack

When it comes to the functionality and efficiency of your OEM carts, the quality of your components plays a crucial role. Industrial carts are engineered to handle the demands of various operational environments, performing with reliability and durability. However, a common sentiment we hear from new clients is that their casters fail, leading to frequent downtime for their material handling carts. While it might be tempting to cut costs by opting for commodity casters, this decision can backfire in more ways than one. Here are some reasons commodity casters are sabotaging your carts and compromising your operations.

1. Cheap Materials Lead To Frequent Breakdowns

Commodity casters are often made from lower quality materials, like fiberglass or thin-gauge steel, to keep costs down. These materials tend to wear out quickly, especially under heavy loads or in demanding environments. Inferior casters can develop flat spots, cracks, or even break entirely, leading to frequent replacements and downtime. Not only does this disrupt your workflow, but it also causes maintenance costs to pile up over time.

Cracked caster

2. Poor Load Capacity

High-quality material handling carts are designed to handle specific loads efficiently. However, commodity casters often lack the sturdy construction needed to support heavy loads effectively. Using casters that are not rated for your cart's weight can lead to deformities, difficulties in maneuvering, and increased strain on workers. These issues can compound over time, resulting in longer production cycles and performance inconsistencies.

Heavy cart load

3. Inconsistent Performance Means Reliability Issues

Consistency is key in any operational process such as assembly or distribution. Commodity casters are often manufactured with varying qualities of materials, depending on the fluctuation of raw material costs. Commodity casters can vary wildly between batches, which can make it difficult to forecast their performance reliability, and in turn, your productivity. Carts that don’t roll smoothly, turn easily, or track properly can cause disruptions in workflow and increase the risk of accidents. The reliability of your casters is crucial for maintaining a steady pace and ensuring safety.

Distribution cart

4. Lack of Necessary Features

Material handling carts often require casters that can balance many performance capabilities. Commodity casters tend to lack specialized features that meet operational needs, like noise reduction, chemical resistance, or floor protection. High-quality performance casters are designed to synergize with a company’s environment, so that their material handling carts provide not only proper ergonomics and weight carrying capacity, but also a variety of other features unique to their business.

Noisy casters

5. Frequent Maintenance and Downtime

Frequent replacements and repairs are extremely common with commodity casters. When you go with cheaper casters, rather than high-quality performance casters for your industrial carts, there will inevitably be unplanned downtime due to the increased need for maintenance. When these occurrences become frequent, it can have a significant impact on your operations and ability to keep up with your production schedule. Enhance efficiency in your workplace by cutting down on the need for caster replacements and repairs by pairing high-quality ergonomic casters with your material handling carts.

Caster maintenance

6. Increased Long-Term Costs

While commodity casters might seem cost-effective initially, their short lifespan requires them to be replaced frequently, which racks up costs quickly. Not only do you have to dish out cash for the casters themselves, but you also have added labor costs from cart maintenance. Furthermore, every time a cart is taken offline for repair, that’s one less piece of equipment that could have been used for production. Depending on how and when your casters fail, you can even risk damaging goods or equipment in your facility. Investing in high-quality casters for your material handling carts may have a higher upfront cost but they’re a much better long-term investment than commodity casters.

Increased Costs

7. Compromised Safety

Safety is of the utmost importance when it comes to material handling carts in any industrial or commercial setting. Low-quality commodity casters can cause safety concerns due to performance issues, like inadequate load capacity, instability, poor ergonomics, and ineffective braking or locking systems. These performance issues can lead to tip-overs, collisions, or damage to the back and spine, which can damage business property and present liability issues. By equipping your OEM carts with high-quality casters designed for safety, you can significantly reduce these risks.

Damaged goods

How To Get the Most Out of Your Casters

There’s a lot that can go wrong when it comes to your casters. That’s why we recommend investing in high-quality casters that allow your industrial carts to serve their intended purpose. Whether it means paying careful attention to debris issues in your workplace or choosing casters that can withstand constant use, the right casters can save you time and money in the long run. To make sure you’re making the right caster choice for your OEM carts and maximizing ROI, here are some guidelines to follow:

Before selecting your casters, be sure to know your cart's requirements and the unique conditions of your facility. Answer questions like, what is the cart’s intended function? Load capacity requirements? Flooring conditions? Special requirements like noise reduction or chemical resistance? Answering these questions will help you avoid any pain points that you may run into if you use the wrong casters.

Another way to avoid caster failure and increase your return on investment is to evaluate potential mishaps and plan accordingly. Consider the lifespan of your current casters and decide whether it’s time for an upgrade. Are your commodity casters failing frequently, leading to unplanned maintenance and excessive downtime? If the answer is yes, consider investing in higher quality performance casters to limit obstacles and reduce the need for replacement casters.

Stop Cutting Corners On Casters

While it can be tempting to choose commodity casters because of their low upfront costs, they often cause significant financial burden in the long run. By understanding the risks involved with cutting corners on casters for your industrial carts, you can begin to make more informed decisions that save you money and keep efficiency and productivity at a high.

Have some questions about casters for your material handling carts? Contact us for your free CC CHAT (Caster Health Assessment Tour).

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