Excavators that range between 1.6 tonne and 2.5 tonne are generally categorised as 2 tonne excavator models under the mini or compact excavator category. Excavators from this category have risen in popularity within the past few years due to the practicality that these machines offer in terms of manoeuvrability in tight spaces, power and versatility especially in urban settings.
The 2-tonne excavator category according to most construction equipment rental companies are the fastest moving ‘products’ under the excavator for hire segment mainly attributed to a significant increase in urban construction projects. Urban construction projects here refer to projects that range from mega skyscraper projects to medium sized landscaping projects all the way to small home improvement projects.
Excavators that belong to the 2-tonne excavator category (in general they are classified as mini excavators or compact excavators) are generally preferred by construction contractors for urban projects which offer very little space for excavators to work within. This preference for 2T excavators is attributed to the balance between power and size that these excavators offer making them excellent choices for projects that were set in environments that are confined or congested.
Most excavators that fall into this particular category generally also come with a hydraulic coupling link feature which allows the operators of these excavators to use these machines for more than just digging, grading and clearing. With hydraulic coupling links, excavators may be equipped with a range of hydraulic tools that enable these machines to be used for demolition, drilling, compacting and trenching among others.
For smaller landscaping jobs or even home renovations, these smaller excavators are generally taken for hire by contractors in order to reduce the project cost as these excavators replace close to a dozen manual workers at a fraction of the wage cost of workers. Additionally, these machines are also much more efficient and effective when it comes to digging, clearing and trenching which saves time on the project’s duration.
Most construction companies lean towards not just small compact excavator rentals, but also midi sized excavators and a variety of other construction equipment such as skid steers, roller compactors, backhoes, dumpers and cranes just to name a few due to the elimination of ownership costs and reduction in logistical elements.
Apart from that, most heavy machines are high priced and would require construction companies to fork out large sums of capital to purchase these machines and bear post purchase costs which affects the balance sheets of these companies negatively.
Owning too much assets also results in weak ROA assessments by potential investors and banks as the return on assets is based on how much each dollar of asset generates income, which in essence reflects the company’s effectiveness or rather efficiency in utilising assets.
It is due to this reason that most companies prefer to take small excavators for hire because even 2T excavators are expensive and maintaining, storing, transporting these machines are additional costs that could be avoided by companies via taking them on a rental basis as and when they are needed.
