Saturday, August 8, 2015

The UK Pressure Washer Industry 1980 - 2013

I find it astonishing that 20 years of machinery sales and repairs has left me with little inspiration. I do feel that it's a great time to start sharing the knowledge I have gained in the supply and service of both industrial and domestic cleaning equipment.

I hope to talk about a range of makes and models like Karcher from Germanyand Nilfisk Alto (formally KEW) of Denmark.

In the mid 1990’s the U.K. was swamped with cheap Italian pressure washers and accessories. These cheap and readily available machines saw the demise of some high quality British designed and built pressure washers produced by the likes of Warwick and Psimat. Sound familiar? In the mid 2000’s many of the large domestic DIY stores switched their OEM suppliers from Italyto China, so what happened to the industrial pressure washers that European industrial power washer manufacturers feared? I remember our Karcher rep coming to see us in the late 1990’s and telling me a story about how manufacturers in China had copied the Karcher HDS745 industrial steam cleaner and it wasn't long before it would be available for sale in the U.K. It never arrived, did it even exist...?

I visited China in for the first time in 2001 and was very surprised just how primitive the industrial pressure washers were. They did however have an ever increasing range of domestic pressure washers on offer, which in design at least were comparable to their European counterparts. During the past 10 years just 2 factories be been responsible for most of the pressure washers exported from China.

Where are all the Chinese made industrial pressure washers? I think many of the major European manufacturers realised that there was a potential problem coming and most setup their own manufacturing plants in PRC.  Karcher the most well known manufacturer of pressure washers and cleaning equipment assemble their machinery in Germany but use a mass of component manufacturing plants all over the world. This allows them to control and be competitive with components and with build quality. I’d guess this also keeps more sensitive manufacturing technology away from places where it could be compromised or copied.


It's never been easier to buy cheap products from Chinawith websites like Alibaba offering an e-commerce style add to basket and an endless range of products available. The language barrier has all but gone. The product is already available so you don't need to show them how to make it. The container quantity mentality has been lowered to cartons quantities. Easy, right?
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