By Ryan Whisner
Knowing When to Invest In SNOW EQUIPMENT L
arger equipment is always an option to consider for contractors involved in industrial or commercial snow removal. In a presentation during SIMA’s Summer Pop-Up event, LMN CEO Mark Bradley shared how contractors can invest in the right snow equipment while still maintaining a reasonable profit margin.
Obtaining Equipment There are three primary ways for contractors to buy or obtain equipment. First, they can own equipment which is nice if it’s owned outright, and a lot of contractors like to invest in equipment, pay things off and not have any debt. Secondly, Bradley says there’s leasing equipment which allows a little easier access to equipment in terms of borrowing and obtaining equipment. “There are payments and quite often there’s a fixed term associated with the lease that can easily be crafted to match up with contract duration,” he says. The
option often overlooked and to some not utilized enough is winter rentals. “With winter rentals often, the price is very similar to leasing, and you’re only responsible to pay for the equipment during the season, that you’re renting,” Bradley says. “It kind of eliminates the need for maintenance and allows you to enter into contracts that may not be as long term, as you might like.” There are benefits to all three methods. Bradley says for most successful contractors they’ll probably use a blend of all three. “I don’t think that there’s necessarily one way of doing things,” he says. “I think that’s what I’ve learned from doing workshops and really working with a lot of snow contractors over the years is that often they think that they have to use one method of obtaining their snow equipment, rather than maybe using a mix.” He added that it is important for contractors to see the value of considering using the full kind of toolbox of access to equipment, whether it be ownership, leasing, or rentals.
Creating a Budget According to Bradley, step one in really becoming aware of what makes sense when it comes to planning, and obtaining
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SNOW PRO | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020
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