Scientific Equipment Rental: What Are the Benefits of Renting vs. Buying?

Whenever I tell people that I own a company that rents portable Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs), I almost always get the same response: Why would anyone ever want to rent an SEM? There are a number of benefits that renting has over purchasing equipment, so let's review why many of our customers choose to rent rather than buy.

1) Equipment Utilization: This is the number one reason why most customers choose to rent a Scanning Electron Microscope. If they have a short-term project need that lasts for a month or six months, they get the equipment only for the time they're going to use it.

2) Maintenance Costs: Expensive equipment like an electron microscope requires routine maintenance to operate at its peak performance. By renting a system, you don't have to worry about these maintenance costs as we handle all of the maintenance on the equipment.

3) Lease Payments vs. Capital: Many technology companies thrive on government funded R&D programs. Most programs funded through the government do not allow the purchase of capital equipment (those that do generally have a clause that says the government owns the equipment at the end of the contract). By renting scientific equipment, companies can directly charge a government contract. Similarly, many tech startups prefer to rent equipment as it is often difficult to secure business loans on expensive capital equipment.

4) Predictable Payments: If cash flow is unpredictable as it is for many newly formed companies, then renting may make more sense for you as the payment plans on a rental are periodic and predictable. The other benefit is that many rental companies (like ours) will allow you to have a contact on a month-by-month basis, so if cash flow gets tight you can take a couple of months off. You simply don't have this flexibility with buying equipment and financing it.

5) Cutting Edge Technology: By renting equipment you know that you're getting the latest and greatest technology. We strive to keep the latest models in stock so that our customers always have the best technology available to them. Scientific equipment often changes so quickly that you will be wishing you had a newer model by the time you finish making those finance payments!

6) Reduce Taxes: Owning equipment in many states requires paying license fees and property tax in addition to depreciation expenses on the equipment. By renting equipment in most cases you can treat the rental payments as an "expense" which will directly reduce your taxable income.

Overall, if you need a piece of equipment for a short period of time (less than 6-12 months) it generally makes more sense to rent the equipment than to buy it. Contact us today for more information, a complimentary SEM demo, or a quote to rent one of our portable SEMs.

We started the first Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) rental company in the world because we believe in bringing this technology to the masses.

Check us out at:

www.emitLLC.com

[email protected]

(203) 978-3648