Cutting the cost of your excavators

If you move earth  - or demolition waste, or ore - dig, load or grade, you need an excavator.  But not just any excavator. You need a big powerful engine that can run for months without attention, unbustable hydraulic systems and sophisticated electronics to make the most of your machine, your operator and of the job you tackle.

You also need some new answers when it comes to finance. 

The latest heavy plant designs use sophisticated electronic systems to support efficient operation and help to ensure that performance is enhanced. You can also use telematic data from equipped machines to give you better insight into your operation and provide guidance to operators, ensuring that work is done to optimum parameters – which can help your operators get to grade faster, hit target payloads, complete excavations – from trenches to major cutting in less time, while maintaining safety and plant integrity.

Excavators from globally-recognised manufacturers such as Caterpiller, Volvo and Hitachi are versatile machines – but it is always important to have the right machine for the job in hand.

Mini excavators

Mini excavators weigh less than 5 tonnes, and some - often dubbed micro-excavators - can weigh in at under a tonne in dry weight. Both ride-on and walk-behind models are available, and the smallest models are capable of high performance in the most restricted areas, including within buildings and in rear gardens. When space is limited, short- and zero-tail swing models may be the excavator of choice for work such as basement excavations below existing houses and similar work.

Infrastructure and general construction

For commercial or residential construction, heavy excavation work, utilities installation, road or urban construction projects, 6-tonne to 10-tonne excavators can provide the ideal combination of versatility and capacity, while still being compact enough to work domestic-scaled plots. 

Medium excavators

Medium excavators, between 10 to 20 tonnes, are capable of huge workloads and scaled for civil engineering projects. From motorway cuttings and access roads, they can offer the combination of grab size and power to speed up the work, reducing timescales and overall costs.   

For demolition, standard excavators in this range can be provided with upgrades with additional safety features, such as cab and undercarriage guards and mono, two- or three-piece booms, can reach up to 40m.

Waste and recycling and special purpose excavators

Waste and recycling activities can be performed more effectively with crawler excavators and solid-wheel compactor versions.  Enhanced visibility with elevated cabs and greater stability, thanks to a heavier counterweight, can increase safety on large landfill sites.

Manufacturers such as Hitachi offer forestry excavators with special undercarriage features such as high stability and ultra-low ground pressure as well as manoeuvrability, and even an amphibious Soft Terrain Excavator* has an amazing mobility on soft terrains and swamps.

Large excavators for mining and quarrying

Challenging environments, tough materials, remote locations, mining and quarrying projects demand the top end of the excavator ranges.  The largest excavators from manufacturers like Hitachi can run to  50- to 800-tonnes, offering exception capacity and loading. The very largest are intended for permanent siting  in pits and opencast drifts,  and can deal with  vast quantities of materials handled 24 hours a day.  A choice of backhoe or shovel and diesel engines or electric motors to match the machine to your job – even in tunneling.

 

Wheeled excavators

If you have multiple small jobs,  a wheeled excavator can avoid the cost in time and money of a low loader, and can be driven to jobs. At home on- and off-road, wheeled excavators offer exceptional mobility and flexibility for construction projects, timber yards, concrete plants and small and medium work of all kinds.

 

Excavators for Rental business

If your business is plant rental, you will want a rugged machine that is forgiving enough for inexperienced users and powerful enough to tackle anything that is asked of it – while still being reliable for more work the next day. Several manufacturers including Komatsu and Hitachi offer machines optimised for the plant rental market.

Technology for excavators

The modern excavator has moved a long way in recent years, and can now offer sophisticated electronics with system monitoring as standard, and accurate Global positioning accurate to fractions of a metre – saving hours in surveying  time on greenfield projects.

With a choice of attachments – backhoe or bucket  being just the first of a whole list of options, the excavator can be the versatile workhorse of any job – and the backbone of your business.

Operating and purchase costs

Modern excavators have been developed to reduce emissions  fuel needs. As well as  from special purpose models that may run on propane or even electric power, modern engines can be certified for low-emission environments – increasing vital for work in urban settings.

This has the added benefits of reducing fuel costs – and coupled with the reduced costs of ownership from greater reliability and reduced downtime could make a new excavator a sound investment for your business.  Skilled maintenance and expert attention to hydraulics, power trains and even structure is still necessary, but reduced service intervals contribute to more time at productive work and less time waiting for the service engineer.

Purchase cost can range from just above £10,000 for a mini excavator to hundreds of thousands for the giants of the quarry, but whatever the cost, there are finance solutions that can help you cover them. 

Whether you work in construction, agriculture, mining or public works, iff your business needs an excavator, or even a whole fleet, you need access to large scale finance. At Rangewell we can help you find the finance you need for the machines you want.

Funding excavators

You may  need new excavators, or used plant. Remember, though, while recent equipment with low hours can present real savings,  older equipment may not just be inefficient – without emissions certification, it may not be allowed to work on some sites.

Fortunately, there are ways to make new equipment affordable. Funding solutions based on asset finance can help you work with the latest equipment while you spread the repayments - and despite what you may believe, it is available for both new and used excavators.

There are several types of asset finance that can help:

Hire Purchase – spreading the cost of buying

Hire purchase spreads the cost of buying - letting you hire an asset until you have paid for it in full.

You pay a deposit plus fixed monthly instalments for the agreed term, which lasts between 12 and 72 months. HP is the solution for durable equipment you‘ll want to keep for long term service.

Leases - removing the capital cost

Leasing can provide the equipment you need without the cost or commitment of buying it - or aof any upfront costs.

Operating leases work like a rental agreement. You pay a monthly rental charge to use the asset. Maintenance, repairs, and registration can be the responsibility of the leasing company. Operating leases can be ideal for specialised items you may only wish to use for  a particular contract.

Finance leases also let you borrow equipment for a set time, but maintenance, repairs and running costs will become your responsibility. Finance leases are common with larger high cost assets.

Contract hire is a specialist type of leasing arrangement often used for business cars, vans and lorries.  Payments can be reduced, as they are calculated on the purchase value less the estimated residual value of the vehicle at the end of the agreement. This type of finance can be suitable for many kinds of high-cost plant, including excavators.

Refinancing your excavators

If you currently have an excavator or excavators under a finance arrangement, you may be able to reduce the cost commitment.

At Rangewell we can look at your existing deal, and frequently arrange refinance - a way of paying off your existing finance, by replacing your current deal with fiance from another lender, and a more competitive rate. 

It could mean cutting your monthly outgoings.

This is known as Asset Refinance. It can also allow you to release the investment you have already made in existing excavators and other plant , and re-use the funds.

It works by letting you sell existing assets to a finance company, who will provide you with a cash payment which you can use as you wish. You will then make monthly repayments to buy them back.

You can continue to use the equipment while you are repaying.  You can also use Asset Refinance to replace an existing funding agreement - allowing you to  reduce monthly outgoings .

Ready to find out more about Asset Refinance? Contact us now. 

Why you need Rangewell to set up finance that’s right for you excavator needs

At Rangewell, we know the many different ways to fund your excavators and other heavy equipment.

We also know that getting the right type of finance for your business is essential to keep costs under control.

Many lenders offer asset finance – but their costs vary enormously. Not all types of deals may be suitable for all circumstances. Getting things wrong could mean you pay a great deal more for the equipment you need.

 At Rangewell, our team includes Asset Finance experts. They work with you to understand your needs, and help you find the right kind of finance arrangement. Then they will help you find lenders who work in the heavy equipment sector, and who can offer the most competitive deals.

if necessary, we can arrange jigsaw funding - a funding arrangement made up of different finance sources to help you afford an excavatio that would otherwise be out of your reach.

Asset Finance is essential to spread the cost of the equipment you need. Our expertise is essential to get the Asset Finance that’s right for your business. When you call us, we can explain more about all the different asset finance options - helping you see which is the right choice for your heavy equipment needs.

Whatever your business, we will help you get the excavators you need, and get them working for you - and cut the costs.