The Benefits of Hiring Excavators for Projects

This article examines the benefits of taking excavators for hire instead of buying expensive machines.

03:30 10 January 2025

Excavators are amazing machines that are capable of performing a wide range of tasks due to the way these machines have been designed and developed over the years. Excavators, dig, move earth, move materials, move debris, drill, smash, cut, break and even compact and grade among other things rendering them akin to a Swiss Army Knife of the construction spectrum. 

However, excavators do not come cheap and even a mini excavator would cost tens of thousands of dollars if not hundreds and this could hurt a project’s working capital and cash flow. 

Even, buying an excavator on loan increases the liability section of the balance sheet considerably and apart from that there are also ownership costs that lay even more weight on the liabilities which include interest payments, storage space, maintenance of the excavator, additional vehicles to transport the machine from one location to another and many other elements that are detrimental to the bottom line of the company. 

This article examines the benefits of taking excavators for hire instead of buying these expensive machines which will help project managers to justify their decision to take an excavator for hire instead of buying. 

Among the biggest advantages of taking heavy machines such as excavators for hire the amount money that can be saved. High end excavators equipped with the latest technologies such as grade assist and load sensors are expensive not just to purchase, but also to own (ownership costs) which increases as these machine age. 

Other costs that may be incurred due to owning an excavator includes logistical costs which revolves around storing the machine and transporting the machine from storage to project locations or from one project location to another project location. Apart from that, when these machines are not in use and left idling in storage, it can be deemed as assets that are not generating revenue which has a negative impact on the ratios linked to return on assets (ROA).

As such, hiring excavators for short term projects is the most viable option towards cost savings. Apart from that, another benefit of hiring includes access to the latest equipment and equipment that are maintained well. It is a fact that technologies and excavator capabilities have been continually evolving over the years and when companies or individuals own an excavator, they become trapped with the machine’s limited capabilities. 

In contrast through excavator hires, projects managers have the option to choose the right type of excavator of different sizes and capabilities which best suit the specific needs of projects.

Most construction equipment rental companies offer various additional services which makes the hiring process easier. 

Additional services such as equipment drop-off and pick-up eliminates the need for construction companies to own additional vehicles to transport these heavy machines and also storage facilities which are all taken care of by the rental companies. 

In essence, based on business surveys it is much more beneficial for construction companies to hire heavy machines such as excavators and not own these machines directly.