The term “OEM” gets used A LOT in our industry, but we see plenty of people spending more money than they should because they don’t understand that the acronym OEM stands for more than one thing.
Most people consider “OEM” to stand for “Original Engine Manufacturer”; This could be Caterpillar, Cummins, Sulzer, Wartsila, MAK or others.
The other definition is “Original Equipment Manufacturer” and when this is applied to the engines, there are various assemblies that are not made by the engine manufacturer, but a specialist company.
I am helping someone at the moment who needs the turbocharger in their MAK engine overhauling after some debris passed through it.
Wisely they have gone to a couple of companies to get a price comparison, so as well as contacting Bartech, they went to their local agent for the MAK engine.
One way we have been able to provide a better price without compromising quality is by sourcing spares directly from the turbo manufacturer, Napier.
Ultimately the spares come from the same source, the “Original Equipment Manufacturer”, but there is a much bigger markup going through the engine manufacturer.
