There are many things to consider when purchasing foodservice equipment, and while cost is an obvious factor, it's important to look beyond the purchase price to consider total life-cycle costs, including purchase price, annual energy and water costs, as well as other long-term costs associated with the equipment.

Total Value of Ownership Back to top

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) refers to the total cost of owning a piece of equipment over time. The Total Value of Ownership (TVO) also includes the indirect costs and benefits of a piece of equipment, such as making your staff more productive or improving the service you offer to customers. TCO and TVO provide a framework for evaluating kitchen equipment by serving as a starting place for answering questions that help identify the benefits and savings of the equipment.

When evaluating slicers, for example, the yield and slice quality are important considerations because the return on the investment starts the moment you begin using the equipment. The chart below provides an example of the return on investment in a Hobart 3000 Series Slicer compared to the Hobart 2000 Series Slicer. For a restaurant that is slicing 75 pounds per day at $5 per pound sell price, the yield improvement of .51 percent would pay for the $500 difference in cost in approximately 8.7 to 12.5 months depending upon the number of days per year the slicer is used.

Staff Productivity Back to top

Staff productivity is another consideration. Will your staff be able to do their jobs faster with the new equipment? If new equipment is more reliable, staff will spend less time fixing problems. User-friendly equipment can also mean less time spent on staff training. Hobart's 3000 professional slicer can be cleaned in half the time compared to previous models due its easy-to-clean features. The slicer has a one-piece, seamless base with lots of open spaces to easily move your hand around while cleaning. In addition, a new ring guard cover catches food debris during slicing for easy removal at cleaning time. This reduction in cleaning time provides a significant return on investment compared to previous models. The following chart assumes a 50 percent reduction in cleaning time and $8 per hour for labor. Restaurants spending 10 minutes cleaning their slicer can save both time and money depending upon the number of cleanings per day and the number of days the slicer is used. As highlighted in the chart below, a slicer that is cleaned four times per day for 10 minutes results in total cleaning time of 40 minutes per day. In this example, the amount of time to pay back the additional $500 cost of the 3000 Series Slicer over the previous model is just 6.3 to 9 months.

And the chart below illustrates the combined benefits of yield improvement with the reduction in cleaning time for the Hobart 3000 Series Slicer. For example, a restaurant slicing 50 pounds per day and cleaning for a total of 40 minutes per day would see the payback on the Hobart 3000 Series Slicer in just 3.4 months. Depending upon individual volume and the total cleaning time per day, restaurants can use the chart below to determine where their operation falls on the chart. Nearly all examples below realize a payback within about one year.

Cost of Maintenance Back to top

The cost of maintenance should also be considered. For example, the 13-inch CleanCut™ knife on the Hobart 3000 Series Slicer is made from Stellite alloy with a thinner edge that stays sharp twice as long as other blades. The slicer has an indicator light that comes on when it is time to sharpen, eliminating the need for unnecessary sharpening. Additionally, a self-lubricating carriage rail system creates a smoother glide, reducing the need to lubricate and ensuring smoothness over the product's lifetime.

When factoring in TCO and TVO, it's easy to see that foodservice equipment price isn't the best representation of value. Purchase price, energy saving, efficiency, staff productivity, maintenance and replacement costs all play an important role.