Is Forklift Hire An Appropriate Option For Your Business?
Many businesses use a forklift to lift up those heavy pallets laden with products or machinery for their businesses
. However, there are some cases where buying a forklift outright is not the right financial decision for the business. Forklifts are quite pricy, especially new ones. If you only use one occasionally, forklift hire might be a more appropriate option.
There are many advantages to hiring a forklift rather than buying one. Many hire firms offer long term rates when hiring out their forklifts, so you get to keep the forklift for as long as you need it and you dont have to outlay a large sum of money. You can set your budget to include the rental costs and know that they will be the same each month. The maintenance is done by the hiring firm, so you dont have any additional costs when and if the forklift breaks down or needs servicing.
The costs of hiring a forklift can be taken off your tax; another nice advantage of hiring. And hiring allows you to try out different models and types so that you can find one that is truly suited to your needs. This saves the cost of buying one only to find it doesnt suit the job you need it for. Hiring provides a very flexible means of adding and removing machines from your fleet without any large outlay.
Rather cheaper than a forklift is the pallet jack. Pallet jacks are not quite as versatile as a forklift as they can only lift the pallet up high enough to clear the floor for travel. They cannot lift it up high for stacking like a forklift does. However, they are extremely handy to have when you need to move pallets or other heavy objects from one place to another without stacking them up high.
However, if you really want to get a forklift for your business and a new one is somewhat out of the budget and renting does not appeal, there is still one other option and that is to buy a used forklift. Used forklifts are considerably cheaper than new ones and are ideal for those businesses that only use one from time to time.
Most used machines do come with a warranty and so are quite likely to be a cost effective option as well as an advantage in the business. They are ideal in situations where the latest technology is not necessary, since most will be at least a year old or maybe more.