You may have a potentially big project in the pipeline or too many demands to meet. You may want to choose to change to a flexible working style, or want more structure when you plan your work. Deciding on whether to hire or to buy equipment will depend on the nature of your business. Here are the pros and cons of hiring and buying equipment for the industrial, manufacturing and construction industries.

The Pros:

-Depending on the length of your project, hiring equipment can be a cost-effective option, especially if you only need to hire for a short period of time.

-If you have a small working environment, hiring equipment can be a great way to help you with your project, yet free up space when it’s not needed. This will allow you to work with a flexible approach.

-When it comes to the manufacturing industry, one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. Buying your own equipment means you have the opportunity to customise what you buy to ensure it’s exactly what you need to suit your business. Airblast Eurospray for example, not only gives you the opportunity to hire facilities but they can also custom build blast rooms and supply equipment to suit the requirements of your business.

-Buying equipment means you’ll know exactly how to use it and its capabilities. When you hire, you have a limited amount of time to work out how to best use the equipment.

-When you hire you’re open to trying out new technologies without investing too much of your resources if the equipment doesn’t meet your requirements.

The cons

-Buying equipment outright is simple enough if you have the funds to do so. If you’re a small company, or just starting out you may not know what projects are around the corner. Because of this, buying expensive construction, manufacturing or industrial equipment could be a big risk to take.

–Hiring equipment means you have to be organised. You’ll have to plan and factor in the time it takes to source the right equipment. You should also have back up retailers that you can use if you find your first option has sold out.

-Buying your own equipment will also mean you’re responsible for transporting and the cost of transportation to different sites. This is an extra cost and one you may not have thought of at the time of purchase.

-When you buy equipment, you could be stuck with the same technologies for quite some time before you see a return on investment. This could mean that you unintentionally put yourself behind new advances in technology, which may impact how well you perform against your competitors.

-When buying equipment, you’ll need to factor in any costs for maintenance and repairs. This can be less or more than repeatedly hiring new machinery throughout the year. You’ll have to look at its purpose, how many times you require it and the cost for security deposits or collateral if you were to accidentally break the equipment during a hire. From this, you can discover the best option for your company.