ABB, Fairford and Lenze stretch their warrantees

Several UK suppliers of motion equipment have announced plans for extended and enhanced warrantees for their products. As well as providing an added attraction to potential purchasers, the extended warrantees reflect the confidence that the suppliers have in the reliability of their ranges.

ABB is extending the warrantee on its M3000 high-efficiency motors to three years. Steve Ruddell, general manager of ABB`s electrical machines business, says that since the Eff1 motors were introduced in 1999 there have been few warranty claims. ABB expects the machines, which are designed for demanding and continuous-duty applications, to give 10-20 years of reliable service, provided they are correctly maintained. The warrantee period has been kept shorter than the first bearing replacement interval to avoid confusion.

The soft-starter specialist Fairford Electronics has extended the warrantee on all of its products (including custom-designed items) from one to five years from the date of despatch. "The term `fit and forget` is one that is often misused nowadays," says managing director, David Bennet, "but it`s certainly true in respect of our soft-starters". Fairford recently replaced a soft-start, still working more than 15 years after it was installed at a water treatment plant, with a newer version.

Another company now offering longer warrantee periods is the Lenze group, which is doubling the period from 12 to 24 months. The warrantee applies not just to Lenze-manufactured products but also to other brands that it sells, including Panasonic, Servomech and Vogel. The warrantee applies worldwide allowing users to obtain local support around the globe. Lenze also offers a 24-hour global service helpline.

In a slightly different move, the compressor manufacturer CompAir is introducing what it claims is the UK`s first "free hours" based warrantee for its L series of rotary screw compressors. The warrantee, based on a "working when you are" approach rather than the more common yearly-based warrantees, will provide users with up to 32,000 hours of cover. For light users, operating their compressors for just 2,000 hours, this will represent a warrantee period that is twice as long as the industry standard. Howard Parsons, managing director of CompAir`s aftermarket division, says that another attraction is that "every customer will be able to see whether their compressor is still in warrantee simply by walking to the machine and reading the hours counter, saving valuable time hunting for paperwork or worrying about warrantee periods".