Rock Drill OEM vs Private Label: A 5-Step Purchasing Checklist for Drilling Contractors

I'm an office administrator for a 58-person drilling contractor. I manage all equipment and parts purchasing—roughly $1.8M annually across 12 vendors. Most of that is Epiroc mining-related orders for drilling rigs, hydraulic breakers, and attachments.

When I took over purchasing in 2021, I used to compare shelf prices and call it due diligence. After a few expensive lessons, I built the checklist below. If you're trying to decide between rock drill OEM and private label, this article is for you.

One caveat before I start: this checklist won't tell you which one to pick. There is no single right answer. What it will do is show you what to ask before you choose.

When to Use This Checklist

Use this when you're ordering rock drill components, hydraulic breaker wear parts, or attachments for a critical machine. It also works when you're putting together a bulk drilling rig purchase or standardizing a fleet across multiple job sites.

If you're a one-person operation with a single rig and you do all your own maintenance, some of these steps will feel heavy. That's fine. This list is designed for people who have to keep operations moving and keep finance from sending angry emails.

What OEM vs Private Label Actually Means

In this article, OEM means parts sourced from the original equipment manufacturer—in many cases Epiroc, or through an authorized Epiroc dealer. Private label means parts made to fit the same equipment but sold under another brand. They might be made in the same factory, or they might be made from a copied drawing. The label alone doesn't tell you.

In my experience, the phrase 'fits Epiroc' is where the problem starts. Fit is just the beginning. Material, heat treatment, tolerance, and support are what determine whether a part works for a full shift.

The 6-Step Checklist

Step 1: Define the Operating Context Before You Compare Part Numbers

You can't compare OEM vs private label in a vacuum. I've made that mistake. I once compared two shank adapters side by side and the dimensions looked identical. But the private label adapter wore out in about half the hours.

Here's what I need to know before I ask a supplier for a quote:

• Rock conditions: abrasive, fractured, hard granite, or mixed?
• Duty cycle: how many hours per shift, and what penetration rate are you targeting?
• Maintenance skill: do you have in-house mechanics, or are you relying on dealer support?
• Failure cost: what happens if a part fails during a production blast hole pattern?

That last one matters most. On a production job, a failed shank adapter can cost more in downtime than the part itself. Price is important, but only if you can quantify the cost of failure.

Step 2: Verify Specs Against Serial Numbers, Not Model Names

This is the step most people skip. They ask, 'Is this the part for a Rock Drill 123?' and take a yes. I've been burned by that. Actually, I wasn't burned—I was the one who accidentally ordered the wrong tool holder because I trusted a model name.

On Epiroc equipment, a single machine generation can have multiple part numbers for the same component family. The right way to check: find the serial number plate on the machine or attachment, and ask the supplier to confirm compatibility with that exact serial number, not just the model.

If the supplier won't do that, or gives you a vague 'should fit,' that's a red flag. OEM dealers can usually check this directly against Epiroc's system. Private label suppliers may not have access to the same data. That's worth knowing before you order.

Step 3: Ask About Lead Time and Aftermarket Support

It sounds obvious, but I still see buyers compare shelf prices and ignore lead time. I don't have hard data on industry-wide delivery performance, but based on my purchase orders over the past five years, my sense is that the cheapest option often has the longest lead time for non-stock items.

For a bulk drilling rig order, a one-week delay can mean idle crews. So ask these questions:

• Is this item stocked locally, or does it ship from overseas?
• What's the current lead time for this exact part number?
• What happens when it's not in stock? How long is a typical backorder?
• Is there an expedited option, and what does that do to your total cost?

Aftermarket support is just as important. Some private label vendors will happily sell you a cheaper hydraulic breaker seal kit, but they won't help you install it or troubleshoot it. When I need Epiroc industrial tools and attachments from an authorized dealer, I can usually get help from a local rep who knows the machine. That's worth real money when you're stuck on a Friday afternoon.

Step 4: Understand the Warranty Claim Process Before You Buy

This is where I made my biggest mistake. I ordered a batch of rock drill parts from a private label supplier because the price was 32% lower than OEM. When two of them failed within 90 days, the supplier's warranty process required me to ship the parts to their overseas facility at our expense, then wait for their engineering team to decide whether it was a manufacturing defect.

Looking back, I should have asked about warranty logistics before ordering. At the time, I just assumed every company handles claims the same way. They don't.

Ask these exact questions:

• Who pays for return shipping on a warranty claim?
• How does the claim get approved? Photos? A dealer inspection? A third-party lab?
• What's the typical turnaround time for a refund or replacement?
• Will they provide a loaner or advance replacement for critical components?

If they hesitate on the last one, that tells you something. A dealer-backed OEM program will often advance-replace a failed part because they care about keeping the machine running. A parts-only seller may not have that ability.

Step 5: Run a Pilot Order on Non-Critical Items

Even if your analysis says private label is a good fit, don't switch everything at once. Pick a low-risk component—a tool holder, a hydraulic breaker chisel, a wear part—and run a four-to-six-week test.

Here's what I watch during a pilot:

• Wear rate relative to the OEM part you used before.
• Installation fit: does it seat correctly, or did you have to modify something?
• Invoice and documentation: does the vendor provide a clean, tax-compliant invoice?
• Field feedback: what do the operators say? Not just about performance, but about delivery and communication.

The surprise wasn't the price gap between OEM and private label on our first pilot. It was how much of that gap came back in extra time—time dealing with invoice corrections, time waiting on hold, time re-explaining a warranty issue. The cheaper part became a lot less cheap once you added all that up.

Step 6: Calculate Total Landed Cost, Not Shelf Price

I'm a bit obsessive about this because I'm the one who has to explain budget overruns to finance. A part that costs $900 vs $600 is not a $300 saving. You need to add freight, duties if imported, payment terms, inventory carrying cost, and the expected failure rate.

Set up a simple spreadsheet with rows for:

• Unit price
• Freight and handling
• Order processing time (your time, not the vendor's)
• Invoice accuracy and correction cost
• Warranty claim handling effort
• Expected useful life

When we did this for a batch of drilling rig attachments, we found that the private label option only made sense for components with low downtime impact. For anything that could stop a shift, OEM was cheaper in practice, even though it was more expensive on paper.

Things Most Buyers Get Wrong

The most frustrating part of buying rock drill parts is that the same problem keeps coming back: written specs sound identical, but the actual product is built to different standards. You'd think a part number would settle it. It doesn't.

Another common problem is assuming OEM means 'the same as the part that came with the machine.' That's not always true, either. Epiroc revises designs. If you order 'OEM' but your dealer supplies the latest revision, the part may not match the original setup. Always confirm the current part number and the revision level. Epiroc's online product library updates part numbers and specs more often than most buyers expect. This was accurate as of March 2026—verify current specs on epiroc.com before you commit to a bulk drilling rig order or a large parts purchase.

Bottom Line

There is no best rock drill part supplier. There's only the best fit for your operation, and that depends on rock conditions, downtime costs, your team's repair capability, and how much you trust a particular vendor's warranty.

I lean OEM for wear parts on production-critical drills. I'm not saying OEM is always better—I do not mean to imply private label parts are junk. But for our operation, the support and consistency are worth the premium. If you can answer the six steps above with confidence, you'll know what works for yours.

And if a supplier won't answer the questions above clearly, that's as much of an answer as a quote.