If you’ve looked at commercial cleaning equipment prices recently, you’ve probably noticed one thing - prices have gone up significantly over the last few years.
There are a lot of reasons for this, and while we could get deep into politics and economics, that’s not really what this blog is about. However, one thing that absolutely has had an effect is Brexit and the increased costs involved with importing products into the UK, especially from Europe. Shipping, transport and general importing costs have all increased massively, and unfortunately that cost eventually lands somewhere down the line.
Now, when it comes to cleaning equipment, there are many different manufacturers out there. The UK still has manufacturers heavily producing equipment here in Britain, which is great to see. Numatic, for example, still manufacture a large amount of their equipment in the UK. But there are also many high-quality European brands, particularly from Italy.
The Italians have always had a strong reputation for producing excellent cleaning machines, and that reputation is well deserved. At Frontline ICS, one of the brands we champion is Ghibli, which is Italian made, but there are plenty of other quality European manufacturers as well.
Then, of course, there’s a huge amount of equipment now coming in from China and other overseas markets.
Now before anyone jumps on this - we are not saying every Chinese-manufactured machine is bad. Far from it. Some represent excellent value for money. But what we are saying is that buyers should be careful when comparing machines online.
We are now seeing machines online that appear very similar to recognised brands selling for a fraction of the price. In some cases, the similarities are hard to ignore. And while these cheaper machines may well do a job initially, there is usually a reason why one machine costs significantly less than another.
A lot of it comes down to component quality, build quality, testing, backup support and long-term reliability.
When you see a machine online that looks very similar to a recognised commercial machine, but is dramatically cheaper and sold under a different brand name, it should naturally raise questions.
Will it clean a floor? Probably.
Will it last as long? In our experience, often not.
Will spare parts and technical backup still be available in a few years? That’s another important question.
One of the biggest misconceptions in the industry is that all scrubber dryers are basically the same. They are not. Two machines may look similar in photos but internally be built completely differently.
At Frontline ICS, we import machines from Italy ourselves, and like many suppliers, we are constantly trying to keep pricing competitive while still supplying reliable equipment with proper aftersales support behind it.
The reality is that manufacturers themselves are under pressure. Material costs, electronics, batteries, transport, labour and energy costs have all increased. Even UK manufacturers who produce equipment domestically have had to increase pricing.
So where should the price of a commercial floor cleaning machine actually be?
That’s where things become difficult, because online pricing varies massively.
You can now find scrubber dryers online ranging from a few hundred pounds to many thousands, sometimes with machines appearing visually very similar.
But in our experience, there is still a huge difference between buying a machine purely based on price and buying one based on long-term value, reliability and support.
A machine that costs less initially can quickly become expensive if it breaks down regularly, parts become unavailable, or it simply doesn’t last in a commercial environment.
The commercial cleaning equipment industry is changing rapidly, and pricing will probably continue to fluctuate over the coming years. Manufacturers are under pressure, suppliers are under pressure, and customers are understandably trying to balance quality with budget more than ever before.
But one thing still remains true - buying reliable equipment with proper backup and support behind it will almost always save money in the long run.
At Frontline ICS, we believe there’s still a place for quality machines, honest advice and proper aftersales support, even in a market where price is becoming more competitive every year.