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More and more contractors
are stretching budgets and broadening business opportunities by
renting attachments. While obviously it’s more cost-effective
to own the particular attachments dedicated to everyday core functions,
those used less often—pricier or more specialized pieces—may
be great candidates for rental, and great ways to expand service
offerings and profit potential. And, in a market that’s glutted
with attachment options—particularly for compact equipment—renting
just the right attachment for the job allows contractors to push
the productivity envelope. On the other hand, renting the wrong
piece of equipment can result in machine stress and downtime. For
that reason it’s best to establish a relationship with a true
rental equipment expert (whether a dealer, an independent rental
company, a national rental chain or franchise, or a manufacturer-based
rental outlet) who can direct customers to the ideal attachment
solution for their tasks, while also training them how to use the
equipment safely and productively. In rental, customer service is
just as important as product inventory.
Rental Is on the Rise
In 1993, the US rental industry recorded revenues of approximately
$11 billion. Today that figure has more than doubled to $24 billion,
largely due to the proliferation of national rental chains such
as Hertz Equipment Rental, United Rentals, NationsRent, Sunbelt
Rentals, and RSC Equipment Rental. In fact, Chicago-based NES Rentals
recently announced that it had invested more than $150 million in
new rental equipment during the past 18 months.
Also, manufacturers such
as Caterpillar, Bobcat, Case, New Holland Construction, Daewoo,
Volvo Construction, and John Deere place rental as a top market
segment. The compact equipment sold to rental outlets—skid-steers,
loaders, excavators, and backhoes—accounts for nearly one-third
of all the new units manufactured each year.
When Caterpillar, for
example, decided to throw its hat in the rental ring in the 1990s,
the company began by expanding its compact-equipment line and its
arsenal of attachments, which it refers to as “work tools.”
Then the company plunged into the rental business by putting together
a program to help Cat equipment dealers become effective rental
players as operators of Cat Rental Stores. “Today, our goal
is to widen the scope of work-tool options that we can offer to
our customers,” says Dixie Sanders, Caterpillar marketing consultant
for work tools, who adds that the company’s recent market studies
show that its largest rental opportunity lies in the growing landscaping
market. Caterpillar’s current financial reports indicate that
its rental-store fleets are up approximately 21% over the previous
year.
Bobcat Marketing Manager
Lance Mathern reports that his company is also seeing major growth
in the rental industry, at an estimated level of 30% over the last
several years. “Our sales of skid-steers, compact track loaders,
and attachments to rental operations mirror our sales to contractors.
The same things that contractors are buying they are renting as
well,” he says, adding that it pays off to rent attachments
prior to purchasing them. A general rule of thumb, he says, is to
consider purchasing the equipment if you can utilize it on at least
25% to 30% of your jobs.
Commercial Ready Mix
Products Inc. of Winston, NC, rented a 60-inch sweeper attachment
to control dust and runoff, and to keep stone off the concrete surface.
After testing it out, the piece was purchased and is used two hours
each day at its plant.
The company had also
rented a hydraulic breaker attachment, but did not purchase it.
Construction Estimator Steve Sumner says that the company really
has to analyze how many times an attachment is used. “If you
pay more in rent than you would in a payment, then you’re better
off owning the attachment and having it at your disposal,”
he says.
Multitasking
Combine the hottest compact-equipment rentals (ones with all
the bells and whistles) with readily available specialty attachments
and rental customers can quickly turn just one machine into a versatile
tool carrier, without the considerable capital investment.
“A good contractor
is always going to be looking for ways to make their people and
their equipment more productive. Attachments allow them to use the
same machine and the same operator to complete multiple functions,”
says Bill Strickler, regional fleet manager for RSC Equipment Rental,
a company within the Atlas Copco Group that operates nearly 500
rental stores across the nation. “We look at the application,
length of rental, and job-site conditions. Then we offer solutions
to help increase a contractor’s efficiency, by meeting the
needs of the job, the operator, and the owner.”
Drew Pickens, corporate
communications director for NationsRent, points to the fact that
traditionally a contractor had to own a grader, a wheel loader,
and a backhoe at a minimum. “Now one skid-steer, for example,
can do the job of all three machines by combining it with attachments
such as forks, augers, brooms, planers, hammers, grapples, and stump
grinders,” he says.
Ever-Changing Technology
While attachment rental has been around for years, attachment
technology is no longer your father’s Cadillac, as they say.
With fierce competition for space on the rental floor, manufacturers
are designing their products to fit a wider range of equipment.
In fact, many attachments can be operated on different brands without
the need to switch attachment brackets. Plus, new quick-attach coupler
systems enable some attachments to be shared between the wheel loader
and skid-steer units.
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PHOTO: CATERPILLAR |
Another high-tech example
is Case and its optional “integrated” hydraulic couplers
for its M Series backhoes. “This is the first hydraulic coupler
to be integrated into the end of the dipper stick,” says Case
Marketing Manager Rusty Schaefer. “It allows the contractor
to change buckets without getting out of the cab. Another advantage
of integrating is that you don’t lose any of the backhoe performance,
and you maintain your breakout force for the bucket.”
Rising attachment use
is significantly changing the design requirements of the machines
that power them. “Compact-equipment models are being engineered
with more hydraulic flow to handle larger, heavier attachments.
Machines are moving from the simple to the very complex and are
designed to do so much more than the models of yesteryear,”
says Bret Berghoefer, who serves as the brand-marketing manager
for excavators at New Holland Construction.
“The hydraulic flow
of the machines that a contractor owns or rents, and the type of
application [heavy-duty versus lighter duty], will determine which
work tool is best for the job,” says Gustavo Valecillos, Caterpillar
sales consultant for work tools for compact equipment and building
construction. “That’s how the contractor will make the
right decision on what to rent or what to buy. Remember that a tool
may mount on the machine, but that doesn’t guarantee that it
will perform well. The majority of your tasks just might require
high-flow hydraulic work tools,” he says, explaining that some
tools, such as cold planers or large augers, require extra hydraulic
capacity to operate. Standard-flow versions of these tools may be
available, but may not have the muscle of high-flow units.
So Many Attachments,
So Little Time
As flexibility increases, so do attachment types. No doubt
there’s a mind-boggling attachment invention born every day.
But many of these highly unique and super-specialized contraptions
do not end up in the rental yard and can more likely be acquired
through a regional equipment dealer.
Most large rental operations
invest in the latest popular attachments—hydraulic hammers,
augers, trenchers, and cold planers—as they appeal to the broadest
base of contractors. That’s not to say that these attachment
rental options are not specialized. Equipment rental is a regional
business based on the climate, terrain, and development in a given
area. What is specialized to one contractor may not be to another.
A breaker, for example, may be a common tool for the contractor
who works in urban redevelopment. Those who primarily tackle new
site development may use a breaker quite sparingly and will rent
it if the need arises.
But ultimately—from
site prep to site cleanup—there are numerous specialized attachment
rental options for every facet of the construction process. The
following outlines a sampling of what may be available at your local
rental outlet.
For land clearing, particularly
if you want to selectively remove trees:
- Rotary cutter—cuts
through tough grass and brush; mulches small branches and saplings
up to 3 inches; most come in 60- to 90-inch cutting widths and
travel in forward and reverse.
- Brush saw—cuts
through brush and small trees up to 15 feet tall; cuts trees flush
with the ground or slightly below ground level.
- Stump grinder—grinds
stumps from larger trees.
For demolition, beyond the use of the traditional hydraulic breaker
and grapple bucket:
- Drop hammer—an
easy-to-operate attachment that breaks concrete and asphalt slabs
as thick as 18 inches; leaves the surface somewhat intact while
breaking the concrete below; the loader can roll over the surface
until breaking is complete.
- Wheel saw—more
precise than a breaker when cutting through asphalt, concrete,
frozen ground, or wire mesh; ideal for road repair, or laying
water, gas, or electric systems.
- Multi-processor—features
interchangeable jaws that can tackle cutting, crushing, shearing,
and pulverizing functions.
- Shears—widely
used for demolishing steel and reinforced concrete structures,
cutting cables, and preparing scrap for mill use.
For grading and excavation:
- Buckets—consider
those with tilt features for easier digging and contouring.
- Rotating grapple—allows
contractors to dig straight down in a tight area.
- Combination bucket—with
its clamshell closed, you can dig, doze, and level; with an open
clamshell, the bucket works like a blade or grapple.
- Box blade—for
precision grading; can be equipped with a laser control system
to automatically achieve within 0.25 inch of final grade.
For concrete and asphalt
applications:
- Concrete pump attachment—attaches
to a skid-steer for small concrete jobs; allows for easy placement
of the pump; eliminates the need for a tow-behind concrete pumping
unit or the need to call in a concrete pump truck.
- Concrete mixer attachment —allows contractors to mix, transport,
and pour concrete more effectively than with a standalone mixer.
- Cold planer—handles the selective removal of concrete or
asphalt.
- Curb planer—mills down slip-formed concrete curbs, creating
a smooth approach from streets to driveways.
- Surface planer—for uneven sidewalks and other pathways;
levels and smoothes out the concrete.
For building tasks:
- Pallet fork—moves
building materials and supplies with ease, saving time and labor.
- Soil conditioner—can
be used to knock down ruts on a job site, making it easier to
get equipment in and out.
- Dumping hopper—used
to quickly move and dump waste materials.
For landscaping and
grounds maintenance:
- Tiller—quickly
breaks up the ground and mixes compost and other materials into
the soil.
- Soil conditioner—grades
and levels topsoil and windrows; creates a smooth, soft bed for
laying sod; separates rocks and other debris.
- Sod layer attachment—lays
24- to 28-inch-wide sod quickly and easily.
- Landscape rake—creates
a smooth, level seeding surface.
- Seeder attachment—seeds
directly into the soil for better germination and more accurate
coverage.
- Tree spade—lets
an operator dig, transplant or package a tree without leaving
the cab of the loader.
For site cleanup:
- Sweeper—collects
and dumps dirt and debris; or spreads material evenly across a
site.
- Angle broom—sweeps
away dirt, dried mud, light snow, and other debris from driveways,
sidewalks, and parking lots.
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PHOTO: JOHN DEERE |
From the Rental Yard
A branch of NES Rentals in Springfield, MA, maintains a number
of Bobcat skid-steer loaders and excavators for its rental customers,
which comprise mostly contractors. The in-stock skid-steer attachments
offered here include augers, utility grapples, snow buckets, and
hydraulic breakers. Pallet forks are another popular attachment
for the company, which says that its customers use them as a convenient
way to move roofing tile, cinder blocks, and other materials around
a construction site. The rental outlet’s excavators can be
rented with 13- or 24-inch-wide buckets and a hydraulic clamp, or
with a hydraulic breaker. Their rental excavator units employ a
convenient control pattern selector lever that allows operators
to quickly switch between ISO and standard control patterns. This
means that operators who are used to one pattern don’t have
to re-learn a different one.
From the Job Site
With a try-before-you-buy focus, Maple Park, IL–based
Forstar Landscaping decided to rent a Caterpillar 252B bucket before
considering its purchase. Forstar Supervisor Todd Williams says
the demo was a success. “We were able to get one and a half
times the material in each scoop, so we were definitely able to
save time and labor costs,” he says. Williams also says that
since the job requires that the company change implements frequently
throughout the day, its automatic coupler saves the operator a tremendous
amount of time.
The company also tried
out, then purchased, a Caterpillar landscape tiller attachment.
“It’s given us a huge hand in saving production time,”
says Forstar Owner Randy Conaway. “The tiller mounts in front
and creates a more pulverized soil that’s a lot easier to work
with. It’s probably doubled our efficiency per day. Just knowing
that we have rental options each day is important, because if a
machine quits and there is no alternative, the crew has to take
over and the dollars are going to jump really quickly. We don’t
want to be penny foolish and dollar poor.”
Construction-industry
writer Carol Wasson owns JCL Marketing & Communications Inc
GEC
- July/August 2005
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