Why Heavy Equipment Rental Helps in Uncertain Times

There’s no doubt about it—2020 is the year when certainty went out the window. Of course, we’ve all dealt with uncertain economic, social, and weather-related conditions in the past, but the pandemic has presented us with an opportunity to think of new ways of doing business and meeting customer needs. Many business owners are grappling with the issue of ensuring they have the equipment they need to keep their operations going while being able to meet their obligations. When you’re facing uncertainty, heavy equipment rental is one way to maintain your balance.

In uncertain times, people may not have the same level of cash flow as they did in the past, or they may be focused on saving in case there’s another shut down. Investing in heavy equipment may not be feasible, yet you have to have access to the equipment you need to get the job done. While buying might have been the best option in the past, renting might be the right option today.

Here are three major benefits of heavy equipment rental:

With so much uncertainty surrounding us, you might not want to invest a lot of money or make a major long-term commitment—to anything. That’s understandable, and it’s the top advantage to renting.

Renting heavy equipment allows you to choose the machines you need for your projects and stop paying for them when you no longer require them. There’s no down payment or long-term payment plan. It’s the ideal way to keep working when you don’t know what the future holds.

When you own equipment, you’re responsible for repairs and maintenance—costs that can add up. In uncertain times, you might want to avoid the additional uncertainty of never knowing when you’re going to have to replace a part.

But in the world of heavy equipment rental, we take care of maintenance and repairs. And because the equipment is well maintained, there’s a lower risk of suddenly needing repairs, giving you a significant amount of certainty when it comes to budgeting.

It’s not just maintenance, of course. Our rental team helps with everything from ordering equipment to on-site fuelling, changing out attachments, and even pickups and returns, so you can focus on your business.

If you’ve diversified your offerings and are taking on new kinds of jobs, you might need equipment you’ve never used before. Renting allows you to easily and cost-effectively meet changing customer needs. You might require one specialized piece of equipment for this week’s job and another next month. Renting lets you simply swap machines so you always have what you need.

Additionally, rental equipment has the latest technology, giving you increased productivity and ease of use. New technology can allow you to monitor equipment usage, train operators remotely, track stolen or lost machinery, and benefit from data insights. Renting gives you the chance to try the latest tech without having to buy.

Ultimately, there’s really no downside to heavy equipment rental in times of uncertainty. Having a long-term rental strategy lets you keep your fleet small and reduces your equipment costs while giving you the advantages of flexibility and new technology. You never know—you just might find a piece of equipment that you can look at buying when the future is looking more certain.

Finning is the world's largest Caterpillar dealer, selling, renting and providing parts and service for equipment and engines to customers across diverse industries, including mining, construction, petroleum, forestry and a wide range of power systems applications. We operate in Western Canada, South America, and UK and Ireland.