If your Brisbane business makes consistent use of elevated work platforms, deciding on whether to hire long-term or buy an EWP outright is a decision you’ll have to make eventually.
The direction you choose will depend on a number of factors, with affordability being at the core. Today, we want to look at whether long-term EWP hire in Brisbane is cost-effective for your business.
More often than not, for tradies, builders and maintenance crews, the answer is yes. Let’s look at why.
What Counts as Long Term EWP Hire?
Long-term hire usually means anything from a couple of weeks to several months. It is common on:
- Commercial builds
- Industrial sites
- Shutdowns and upgrades
- Multi-stage fitouts
- Ongoing maintenance contracts
With Performance Tower Hire, you can make long-term bookings of our truck-mounted EWPs or spider lifts, depending on the nature of your job at hand. We understand you’re not going to be taking the gear for a day or two. You’re going to need the working at heights gear on site for the life of the job, and we’ll support you in that without any worries.
The Costs of Owning an EWP
Buying your own EWP
definitely has its benefits, particularly when it comes to the flexibility of not having to book a machine well in advance. You can just get your EWP to the work site and fire it up.
There are a couple of things to think about when comparing buying and hiring:
Upfront Cost
EWP’s are a significant investment, particularly truck-mounted EWPs and Spider Lifts. The prices stretch well into seven figures, which takes a dent out of most annual budgets. It’s a long-term financial commitment that most businesses finance, so there’s also interest to think about.
Ongoing Costs
A few bills come into play when you own an EWP. You have to think about:
- Servicing and inspections
- Breakdowns and repairs
- Replacement parts
- Insurance
- Storage
- Transport between sites
The Utilisation Problem
A lot of the above costs don’t stop when the machine is parked up between jobs. Downtime becomes expensive when this is the case.
If your EWP is not earning money most days of the week, it is costing you money. It still needs insurance, still depreciates and still needs servicing. Bear this in mind when thinking about buying an EWP.
How Long Term EWP Hire Changes the Numbers
Long-term hire is a popular choice because it removes the cost of risk for business owners.
Predictable Costs
With long-term hire, you know exactly what your weekly or monthly cost is. That makes quoting easier and job costing clearer. There are no surprise repair bills and no stress when something breaks.
No Tied Up Capital
Growing businesses often can’t sink big money into a new machine. Hiring an EWP long-term helps protect your cash flow.
Maintenance
The EWP hire company takes care of servicing and maintenance. If anything goes wrong with the machine on site, they will sort it out.
When Long Term EWP Hire Makes Sense
What type of work do you do? If any of the below situations apply, long-term EWP hire could be the way to go for your business.
Project-Based Work
Some projects run for weeks or even months. If you’re regularly undertaking these, then long-term EWP hire is a natural fit. You have the machine while you’re working on the job – then you hand it back to the hire company.
Workload Goes Up and Down
You’re busy some months and quiet for others – that’s how it goes for a lot of Brisbane businesses. If you hire your EWP, you’re not paying for it when the work slows down.
Growth Without Risk
You’re busy now, but maybe you’re not sure how sustainable it is in the long term. If you hire your EWP for a long-term job, you’re not locked into a massive financial contract that could prove tricky to manage if the work slows down.
When Buying Might Make More Sense
EWP ownership definitely still makes sense for some businesses. If you:
- Use the same type of EWP almost every day
- Do the same kind of access work every week
- Have consistent jobs that look to continue well into the future
- Have storage, transport and in-house maintenance sorted
… then owning your own EWP starts to make sense.
Factors Affecting Long-Term EWP Hire in Brisbane
Just like in any other Australian urban centre, Brisbane businesses have to consider a few things when it comes to their long-term EWP hire.
Job Sites Are All Different
The CBD, the suburbs, the industrial estates – there are a range of job sites in Brisbane and all will have different access requirements and working at height features. You’ll need a versatile machine, or you’ll need the flexibility of being able to change your hired EWP from job to job.
Transport and Access
Moving EWPs around Brisbane is not always simple thanks to traffic, site restrictions and access windows. A hire company can make this easy for you and deliver your machine to the worksite.
Weather Delays
We can get some wild weather in Brisbane and that can affect the jobs you’re working on. Some sites have to shut down during storms for safety reasons – wind and rain aren’t the best combination when you’re working at heights. When you hire an EWP, you can work around these shutdowns. If you own a machine, it’s going to be sitting idle and costing you money.
What to Look For in Long-Term EWP Hire in Brisbane
Not all hire is equal. When booking long-term, look for:
- Fair long-term rates
- Reliable, well-maintained machines
- Fast breakdown support
- Local Brisbane delivery
- Honest advice on what machine suits your job
The right hire partner saves you time, stress and money. They answer your questions and work hard to make sure your job turns out a success.
Contact Performance Tower Hire for all Long-Term EWP Hire
For most Brisbane operators, long term EWP hire is usually a smart financial move. You protect your cash flow, reduce your risk exposure and have nice flexibility to work around your projects. You can also match the right machine to the right job, every time.
If you have any questions about EWP hire, our team is here for you. We have a range of truck-mounted EWPs and spider lifts for both long and short-term hire. Whatever the working at heights job and whatever the industry, we can guide you to the right machine. Get in touch today.
