Try Before You Buy: Hiring a Forklift First Makes so much Sense
Investing in a forklift can be an expensive business that eats into a working capital and/or profits. Naturally, using a forklift can optimise your business, so in the long run you would hope to recoup your initial investment. However, the upkeep and maintenance of the machine would definitely have an impact on your profits and would add to your annual business overheads too. If you are considering buying a forklift to enhance productivity, you may want to think about hiring a machine first to see how things work out before committing to buying one.
Hiring a forklift before you buy offers a business many advantages
Testing a Machines Capabilities
One of the main benefits of hiring a forklift before you actually buy one is that it allows you to test a machines’ capabilities and then to decide if it is the right one for the type of daily tasks your staff have to carry out. Hiring different forklifts over time, allows you to find which machine would best be suited to the jobs that need to be done in your working environment.
No Upkeep & Maintenance Issues
Hiring a forklift before actually investing in a machine means that while you are testing a particular model out, you will not have to worry about maintenance and upkeep issues. Should there be an issue with a hired forklift, the problem should be resolved by the hire company with the minimum amount of fuss and disruption to your business ensuring that productivity is in no way affected by any unnecessary down-time.
Allows Staff to be trained
Any staff who would be working the forklift would need to have taken a specific course so they are fully certified to operate the machine in your workplace. Hiring a forklift allows your staff to get used to the machines you rent and over time this allows them to improve their existing skills.
Your staff would need to obtain an operators permit no matter what size forklift
Hiring Helps a Business Expand
Hiring a forklift before buying a machine allows you to expand your business knowing what your fixed monthly costs are going to be. Over time you get to assess the type of machine your business might need a little further down the line which includes the number of forklifts your might need in the future as your business grows.
Being Able to Upgrade When Needed
You can always upgrade your machine as needed when you choose to hire a forklift rather than buy one outright. If there is a specific task that needs to be carried out with a particular machine, it is far easier to hire the right forklift for job. Hiring basically allows for much more flexibility which is essential if your business is growing and taking on different jobs on a regular basis.
Hire Companies Work With You
You’ll find that a hire company will work closely with you and as such be able to get the right forklift to your place of work quickly should you need to have a specific machine for a short-term project. This allows businesses to have the necessary equipment available to them whenever they need them which in turn allows for increased productivity.
Conclusion
Of course, buying a forklift means you would not have to cope with any restrictions but this needs to be weighed up against the initial cost of your investment which can eat into your working capital. On top of this you have all the maintenance costs which you would incur by owing and running your own machine. By far the best way to assess which forklift would best suit your type of business and operators, is to first contact a hire company and then arrange to hire a forklift on a rental agreement whether this is monthly, 6 monthly or annually. You’ll find it works to your advantage and is the most cost effective solution to increase productivity where forklifts are concerned.
Image Credits: Toyota Material Handling EU and incurable hippie
