From renting and leasing to cash purchases and traditional financing, there are many ways to acquire your new forklifts. How you acquire capital equipment, like forklifts, depends on many variables. These vary from the financial status of your company, the type of equipment you use to how you use it. We recommend analyzing the financial and operational status of your business, then have a discussion with your financial consultant or accountant about which method will best suit your company. What works for one company can have disastrous results for another.

When working with clients we like to get them to really think about their operation from an equipment perspective, then combine that with the information they receive internally in order to arrive at an optimal outcome. Questions we ask are:

• What kind of equipment do you use? Is your forklift equipment pretty standard, or do you have unique requirements that would render it pretty useless to anyone else?
• How many hours will you use the equipment each day? A forklift used three shifts, 7 days a week will depreciate much more quickly than a forklift operated only a few hours each day.
• What is the operational climate for operation? An outdoor application used at a fishery will effect resale and depreciation more than working indoors with canned goods.
• Do your requirements change often? If you have a pretty static operation, the likelihood of needing to alter your equipment needs is less than an operation that frequently changes based on the needs of its customers.
• What is your cash flow situation? Companies with a robust cash flow can better afford down payments or outright cash purchases than those that do not. Renting equipment, whether long-term rentals or short-term, relieves cash flow pressure.
• Is your business cyclical? Rentals can be turned in and re-rented based on the needs of your business while purchased equipment cannot.
• What is the financial status of your company? Purchasing a forklift or a fleet of forklifts will consume more of your available credit than renting. While renting forklifts requires a credit check, it generally does not affect your existing available credit.
• What are your plans for the future? Are you planning a plant expansion, new product lines or services that will require credit or cash? Using cash and credit now on forklifts can impede future plans.

Once you have answered these questions we would recommend you review the answers with your financial consultant before you proceed. Your consultant will likely have additional questions for you to consider before you proceed based upon his/her knowledge of your history and economic status.

Matthai Material Handling has the equipment you need and can provide you with a wide variety of equipment acquisition options. From short-term and long-term renting, leasing and financing, we will be able to provide you with the best combination of equipment and acquisition methods to suit your financial and operational requirements.

Contact us today at 410-344-1801 for a consultation with one of our Equipment Specialists.