The decision to buy or rent equipment in fields such as manufacturing or construction can be crucial. The type of equipment can vary in cost, logistics, and flexibility depending on the project they’re needed for. This type of decision can greatly impact the financial health and flexibility of your organization. Choosing to buy or rent involves a different set of considerations, depending on whether you’re choosing simple power tools or large fracking equipment. When investing in the latter, large-scale machines such as a crane for your small business, there are four important factors to consider.
1. Less Expensive Upfront
Purchasing a crane as a small business can be a heavy choice that can deplete available resources. Retail prices range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars depending on the type. Renting a crane is a much smaller upfront investment, allowing the capital to pool into other areas such as expansion, marketing, or the company’s workforce. Additionally, to purchase a crane entails ongoing expenses, such as future necessary repairs and inspections. With all the regulations of safety and compliance regarding such large machines, the cost is continual, defeating the purpose of ownership.
2. Much More Flexibility
Construction companies take on projects of varying scope, job length, and requirements. Renting allows you to choose what is specifically required for any given project. When a new job requires different machines or equipment, you can return what you have used and rent what you need. This allows your business to easily adapt to the evolving pressures and demands of the industry. Additionally, your company can look completely different than when it started meaning you won’t always need the same equipment because you won’t always be doing the same jobs. By renting, you aren’t locked into owning machines that suddenly one day become obsolete for your business. You are able to respond to opportunities more lightly when you can just command the necessary equipment when a job arises.
3. Access to Latest Tech
Another good reason to rent crane equipment instead of purchasing as a small business is that through renting, you always have access to the latest technology and the newest advancements. Such large-scale equipment means that you periodically have to update upgrade or replace certain aspects of the machine to keep up with the demands of future projects. Choosing to rent can eliminate these concerns as you’ll always have the ability to choose between whether or not you need the highest-tech equipment for a particular project. These new machines will more than likely ensure the latest safety standards.
4. Reduced Storage and Logistics
The last huge reason to rent versus buy as a small business is the reduced logistic and storage concerns with ownership. Equipment like cranes require significant space and if you are a company that has limited real estate to house your equipment, you’re looking at another consistent cost. Storage can be expensive. Renting allows you the flexibility of not being tied to long-term storage solutions for the logistics of equipment. You were just paying to keep equipment that will one day become obsolete. Another concern with the logistics of projects is the delivery and pick up. Rental companies typically provide these options in their rental agreement which alleviates logistic planning and their associated costs.
For a small business, renting far exceeds the benefits of ownership. There are numerous cost savings, along with flexibility between projects, access to the latest technology, and the alleviation of storage and logistic concerns. Choosing to rent offers better management of resources and allows you to look at more long-term future projects without committing to unnecessary costs early on. By choosing to rent, you are more equipped to readily change and maintain that competitive edge that housing large outdated equipment would not allow.