Good deals don't ensure quality. In fact, there are times when buying less expensive used lift trucks can cause more harm than good. Dlubak Corp. found that out the hard way. The full-service glass bending and flat glass fabricator suffered substantial losses from frequent breakdowns and shattered finished products from its fleet of used lift trucks.

The company had always bought lift trucks at auctions or wherever it found bargains. Its fleet consisted of four brands of trucks, all of which were showing signs of age. But Dlubak didn't notice the "great deals" were costing more money than the amount saved initially until it consolidated operations into one facility. Then the problem became overwhelmingly apparent.

"We had at least one machine down every week," recalls John Howryla, general manager. "That's costly because we assign the forklifts to specific areas. If one is down, it slows production."

In addition to slowing production, the used lift trucks were breaking finished products at the new 105,000 square foot facility. Brake, hydraulic and transmission failures caused trucks to jerk and stop unexpectedly. Many loads were dumped and ruined.

"That means a lot of expensive broken glass," Howryla explains. "When it's finished product getting damaged, we have to start all over. It's hard to track those costs, but they add up to a large sum."

Dlubak ditched these problems by buying a new fleet of lift trucks. It bought a mix of 5,000- and 6,000-pound capacity, LP-gas powered trucks. Unlike the previous fleet, these lift trucks are matched to specific uses at the facility, maximizing productivity.

For example, some are equipped with side-shifters for versatility. Others, which move glass-bending pans in and out of kilns, are equipped with a specialized mast and fork extensions for improved efficiency.

"The old fleet wasn't designed for what we do here," Dlubak chief executive officer Dave Bazzano says. "The new trucks have cut overall forklift costs by at least one-third. That's not counting the reduced damage and increased uptime, so cost reductions are significantly more than that."

Another problematic area was fleet maintenance, but that hassle was eliminated as well. The dealer's service technicians perform planned maintenance checks on a monthly basis.

Bazzano's advice to other managers is "good deals or bargains seldom are that. If you buy affordable forklifts known for their reliability, it makes your job a lot easier."