Let’s say you are going on vacation for a couple weeks. Your travel destination is far enough away that you’ll need to fly, but you’ll require a form of transportation once you arrive to get you and your family to the places you want to go. So what are you going to do…buy a car? Of course not, that would be absurd! You’re going to rent one. And the best part is you’ll get a nice new model without a ton of mileage on it. In fact, you may even purposely choose a make and model that you’re interested in one day purchasing. (After all, there’s no better way to see if you want it for the long haul than by taking an extended test drive to ensure you like its performance.) On the other hand, you may choose to rent a car that you can’t afford to buy (but you’ll certainly enjoy it and make the most of it for the limited time it’s in your possession). Or, if you have extended family joining you on your trip, you may opt for the extra-large SUV or van to fulfill your temporary passenger increase.
The situation described above is a common example of how a rental is can be beneficial over making a purchase. The same reasoning can be applied to industrial process equipment. Rental equipment simply put gives you the ability to lease equipment for a temporary period of time. This capability isn’t possible for some kinds of equipment or in certain types of caustic environments, and the lack of customization available can be a major issue for some applications that require a lot of unique specifications. However, renting can be quite advantageous in a number of instances. We’ve identified the top five scenarios where renting equipment can be beneficial to your business.
1. Expansion
When you are scaling up or expanding a process, rental units can be an affordable way to grow your operation. Unlike purchasing new equipment which can take weeks or even months to fulfill depending on the complexity of the order, a rental unit can be installed with the urgency needed to meet the growing demands of your market. And the sooner you can increase productivity, the sooner you see the profitability of your expansion efforts.
2. Short-Term Projects
For short-term projects that don’t provide the justification of making a permanent purchase, renting gives you the flexibility required for the provisional time period that the equipment is needed. This temporary solution does not impose the same kind of responsibility that comes along with ownership (e.g. long-term maintenance requirements), saving you from extended housekeeping tasks and other routine services. Most of the time rental equipment provides the same warranty and technical support as purchased equipment so you are getting all the “pros” of ownership without the “cons” associated with long-term upkeep. An additional benefit is the ability to accurately gauge equipment operation expenses based on your short-term project, providing real life data that can be applied to make the smartest choices for future equipment acquisition.
3. Budget Constraints
Although renting is a good option regardless of economic conditions, it can sometimes be the only possible one when you don’t have the capital available to purchase your equipment outright. It is an affordable solution that allows you to get the new equipment you need now without worrying about the funds appropriation. You may be familiar with this if you’ve ever worked on a project that has been put on hold or even canceled due to excessive start-up costs that exceed budgets. However when equipment is leased, there is considerable cost savings on a weekly/monthly basis over purchasing outright. Additionally, you can generate income while making the low monthly payments. Even more savings can be accounted for from the standpoint of not having to use “your own” equipment when you factor costs associated from wear and tear, routine maintenance, and other servicing. Plus, rental equipment tends to be newer, more modern and efficient to give you the greatest productivity possible (after all, the company renting the equipment wants you to do one of two things – rent more from them or eventually purchase their equipment!).
4. Product Testing
Before making the full investment in a piece of equipment, renting gives you the ability to perform your own product tests, at a pace that suits you, in the real world of your own production facility to ensure your product application will perform to your expectations. (In the case of powder transfer, see our blog post on The Benefits of Testing Powder Handling Equipment for more information). You can also use rental experience as a way to learn about the manufacturer if it is one you have not done business with before. Finding out first hand if a company is a good fit for your application, how their customer service measures up, and if their technical support responds in a timely manner can affect the decisions you make that involve working with them on future projects.
5. Long-Term Solutions
If you have a short-term project that has the potential to become a permanent fixture in your facility, you are looking into a potential long-term solution. Aside from the benefit that comes along with product testing, payment flexibility from a short-term project that transitions into a long-term one can be significant; Often a portion of your rental charges will be credited towards the purchase of new equipment so if you are considering eventual ownership of the unit, renting with an option to purchase is the perfect way to procure the equipment without committing to the full investment (initially). If your intent is to buy, it’s important to check with the manufacturer before you sign any agreements to see what kind of program they have in place so you can account for exactly how much of your rental costs will be put towards the purchase price.
If you are considering renting equipment for one of your future projects, consider the following: Renting equipment continues to be a viable solution when your company isn’t in the position to make a cash investment. If it’s a company you’ve never done business with, it’s a great way to test out their customer service and support before making a longer-term investment with them. Renting certainly isn’t a substitute for purchasing all types of equipment, but in many cases it can provide an excellent cost/performance ratio and versatile application possibilities. And since rental equipment can typically be obtained faster than new equipment that is purchased, your delivery, installation and start-up timeframe are considerably quicker.
DDPS offers rental units for various products, including the Powder Pump and our RoLab Filter. These can be integrated right into your normal manufacturing process or can be used in pilot plants and for scale-up testing. For more information on powder handling equipment rentals contact brian.warren@ddpsinc.com or matt.wease@ddpsinc.com for filtration needs.
