I just read the article and the Linde guy makes sense to me.

The Middle East is the obvious meeting point of Premium machines typically made for the European/American market and budget (typically Chinese) manufactured machines which are often built to be 'spec low/price low' options to break open foreign markets to Chinese manufacturers.

I suppose the choice of which a business really needs is down to the criticality of having efficient and reliable machines in the long term, and not just a cheap initial investment.

If I were a betting man, I'd say the costs of repairing initially cheap machines (which frequently break down) will very quickly outstrip the benefits of any lower initial purchase cost.

Add to this the fuel economy and parts availability question (where undoubtedly Premium manufacturers excel) and I think you have a compelling reason to buy quality even if it does cost more.

Which is basically what the Linde man said here...