When would air compressor hire be the right option?
There are many reasons why you might consider hiring - or renting - an air compressor;
Speed when you need a short-term or temporary solution; whether you need additional compressed air to meet an unexpected surge in production without additional investment cost, or your production has more permanently increased and you are working on designing a new compressed air system - hiring an air compressor provides a speedy short-term or temporary solution to bridge the gap.
Flexibility; here again when you need a short-term air compressor solution hiring offers great flexibility. And with some air compressor suppliers like Kaeser, short-term hire is possible with a minimum rental period of just one day!
Minimise downtime; let’s say your existing compressor fails and you don’t already have a back-up. Depending on the diagnosis, hiring a compressor may present a quick fix replacement that would cause minimal disruption and downtime to your operations while your existing air compressor is repaired.
Cost savings; when you only need the additional compressed air for a set period of time, it is very likely that there will be cost savings to hiring rather than buying an air compressor to meet these requirements.
Inclusions; when you choose to hire an air compressor the maintenance and service are typically part of the hire agreement. Depending on how long you are hiring the compressor for - minimal if no maintenance work may be required. However, in selecting to hire the compressor, in most cases you will therefore have the peace of mind that maintenance and service are included. This means - no need to spend time getting service quotes, and no need to worry about when service work is due - the supplier takes care of it all.
When investing is the right choice
There will of course be numerous situations where investing in new compressed air equipment makes sense. Some examples may be when you are upgrading an ageing compressed air system, to meeting the compressed air requirements of building a new production hall.
New financial initiatives
If investing is the right option for you it’s worth knowing that the Australian Government recently introduced some new financial initiatives to support Australian businesses through the Coronavirus situation. *At time of writing the Australian Government has increased the Instant Asset Write-Off ‘from $30,000 to $150,000 and expanded access to include businesses with aggregated annual turnover of less than $500 million (up from $50 million). This applies from 12 March until 30 June 2020, for new or second-hand assets first used or installed ready for use in this timeframe’1.
There is also the Backing Business Investment (BBI)2. Also introduced by the Australian Government, this is ‘a time limited 15 month investment incentive to support business investment and economic growth over the short term, by accelerating depreciation deductions. This applies to eligible assets required from 12 March 2020 and first used or installed by 30 June 2021. Businesses with a turnover of less than $500 million will be able to deduct 50 per cent of the cost of an eligible asset on installation, with existing depreciation rules applying to the balance of the asset cost.’ In our references below you will find links where you can access more information about both of these initiatives.
Conclusion
Whether you’re thinking about hiring or buying, the first step in deciding may well be to consult a compressed air provider that has the expertise and knowledge to assist you in weighing up your options.
*Information correct at time of publishing (01.04.2020). Please see reference below to check current status.
References
1Australian Government: Increasing the Instant Asset Write-Off Last updated 25 March 2020
2Australian Government: Backing Business Investment (BBI) Last updated 25 March 2020