One of the biggest problems with starting your own construction company lies in the fact that without heavy machinery, you’ll be limited to small remodeling projects. However, purchasing expensive construction equipment straight away might not be a good idea either. You see, if you’re using a piece of equipment 60 percent of the time (or more), purchasing might be a great idea. Otherwise, renting is the most obvious choice. Still, not everything can be put down on paper. Namely, there are various other benefits of renting construction equipment that just might persuade you that making this purchase is the right idea.
Table of Contents
1. Saving money on storage
When in use, construction equipment is usually on the construction site. More often than not, it’s in a temporary shelter, unless it can be left in the open for some period of time. Nonetheless, once the construction project ends, rental equipment goes back to the agency that you’ve rented it out for, whereas your own equipment would need to have temporary storage of its own. In other words, renting construction equipment saves you quite a bit of money in the long run.
2. Testing the equipment
While characteristics may seem great, on paper, there are some hidden benefits and downsides of the equipment which you wouldn’t be able to notice otherwise. The problem is, that some pieces of equipment tend to require a major investment. A perfect example of this is a tower crane which, after purchasing, you’ll A) pay off for a couple of years and B) not be likely to replace anytime soon. Therefore, wouldn’t it be smarter to rent tower cranes first and then buy them later on if you’re 100 percent satisfied with them. As we already said, this is a major investment so nothing short of 100 percent should do.
3. Keeping up with technology
On the surface, it may seem as if construction technology isn’t advancing at such a rapid pace, yet, this is a claim that only someone completely unfamiliar with the term could make. When buying equipment, you’re basically locked until you decide to replace it, which, most likely, won’t be anytime soon. On the other hand, if you’re renting, you can virtually get a new piece of equipment for every project. Your commitment and contract aren’t that long-lasting, which means that there’s nothing preventing you from getting a newer gear as soon as it’s available.
4. Transporting machines
The next thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that transport of these machines from one location to another isn’t just expensive but also quite inconvenient. Well, if you decide to rent out equipment, it’s usually the responsibility of the agency that’s renting out these machines to deliver them to your location. Sure, this will be counted into the cost of renting the equipment but the very thought of not having to worry about the logistics of the move means a lot. Not to mention the fact that you get one less thing on your list of responsibilities, which is always a plus in the construction business.
5. Maintenance
Most importantly, if you decide to rent, you’re in charge of the maintenance of these machines during the project, which is, coincidentally, when they need the maintenance the most. During the downtime, the turnaround, this will be someone else’s problem in its entirety. In fact, if the machine breaks at the site, it’s usually the obligation of the rental company to replace or fix it. A clear and win-win scenario, at least from your point of view.
In conclusion
At the end of the day, you don’t really have to make up your mind and go with one or another. In fact, it’s by far the most efficient if you were to do both. So, you can rent some additional equipment when you need it while owning the core of equipment. Other than this, there’s the seeing-it-in-action that we’ve discussed earlier on. This alone demonstrates just how well these two trends function in a synergy.