When it comes to the need to use lifting equipment to perform regular business processes, companies have to solve a dilemma: to buy or rent it. Although at first glance, renting seems much more profitable (primarily because it eliminates the need for large one-time investments, and the expense item itself becomes predictable if scaling is not planned), when assessing long-term prospects, equipment ownership brings hidden financial benefits. Below, we will reveal these benefits in more detail.
Is Lifting Equipment Rental Really the Optimal Choice?
The vast majority of businesses, especially at the growth stage, seek to minimize regular expenses – this is actually why they are interested in renting. Indeed, instead of looking for funds to purchase lifting equipment, a business gets the opportunity to evenly distribute expenses to allocate its budget to other, no less priority tasks, such as marketing or purchasing materials.
Another factor in favor of renting is flexibility, which is necessary, first of all, for companies working with seasonal or one-time project loads. Thanks to renting, they can take equipment only for the period of performing specific tasks, while avoiding maintenance costs during periods of downtime. Thus, construction companies working on temporary sites, or warehouses faced with peak loads during seasons of increased commodity demand, can quickly adapt their fleet of equipment to new loads without having to invest in their own equipment.
It is also worth noting that renting eliminates the hassle of maintenance and repair since in this case, the responsibility for checking the technical condition of the equipment, replacing worn parts, and emergency repairs lies on its direct owner. And this cannot but be an advantage for businesses that do not want maintain their own service personnel and repair bases.
Finally, renting reduces the risk of equipment obsolescence since the business that resorts to it is no longer tied to one type of equipment and can easily switch to new models without having to sell it that has lost its relevance. This attracts companies that want to use modern technological solutions without large long-term investments.
However, despite all these advantages, with long-term use, renting can be more expensive than owning. Therefore, if you are going to use lifting equipment on a regular basis, you should definitely learn about the potential that its purchase will open up for you.
6 Benefits of Owning Lifting Equipment That You Might Have Missed
So, what are these benefits?
Reduced total cost of ownership
Since leasing lifting equipment involves regular payments, over time these payments accumulate and can ultimately exceed the purchase price. Obviously, owning such equipment will allow you to avoid these ongoing costs, which can be essential for companies that use such equipment on a regular basis.
Independence from rising rental prices
Rental rates for lifting equipment may change due to inflation, fluctuations in demand, renewal of the model range of suppliers, and other factors. Therefore, sometimes their growth can cause a serious and unplanned hole in the budget of companies that choose to rent. At the same time, the owner of the lifting equipment is protected against such financial risks.
Increase in asset liquidity
Lifting equipment, when used correctly, can be perceived as an asset that will retain some of its value over time.
This means that, unlike renting, where your money is gone forever, you can eventually sell the purchased machines or use them as collateral to obtain financing for your new business needs.
Savings on maintenance and repairs
Owners of lifting equipment who rent it out usually include maintenance and possible repairs in the fee, not forgetting about their own profit as well. In turn, owning equipment allows you to optimize maintenance costs and conclude contracts only with cost-efficient service partners (as an option, it is also possible to carry out repairs yourself, if the expertise of your personnel allows it).
24/7 availability
In case of renting, companies may face a shortage of the necessary equipment at the needed time or delays in its delivery. Along with this, equipment owners work without downtime and do not depend on the schedule and force majeure that arise for their rental partners.
Taxation
Finally, purchasing lifting equipment allows you to take into account its depreciation, reducing taxable income.
It is also worth noting that many regions have introduced tax breaks for the purchase of such equipment, which makes its ownership even more profitable.
Final Thoughts
While renting lifting equipment may seem like a convenient and quicker solution, its owning will give you new, long-term benefits, from lower costs to increased asset liquidity. That’s why, if your company regularly uses such equipment, buying it will be a much more cost-effective choice. By the way, if you are looking for lifting equipment from time-tested manufacturers, you can check out the Zuma Sales catalog.
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