Falcon’s new winch-assist leasing plan
A NEW LEASING PLAN HAS BEEN LAUNCHED BY EQUIPMENT Lease Solutions in conjunction with DC Equipment to help contractors who want to get into one of its Falcon Forestry Equipment (FFE) winchassist systems but may not have access to finance.
The new business, called ‘Equipment Lease Solutions’, provides a flexible number of options that assist all contractors large or small, in corporate forests or woodlots to overcome any financial barriers that may exist.
At the same time, DC Equipment has taken the opportunity to further customise its FFE winch-assist machines, with the first of the new look models being offered to lease customers.
Frankie Davidson, of DC Equipment, says the opportunities to mechanise steep slope harvesting operations for safety reasons has seen a huge increase in demand for the FFE winch-assist systems.
But not everyone is well placed financially to be able to purchase a machine outright, whilst others may only have a short-term requirement for a machine cutting woodlots or particular settings.
“Our research shows that one of the main barriers for people who want, or need, to get into winch-assist harvesting is the high capital cost,” says Mr Davidson.
“We have found that logging contractors in general have come to the conclusion that the extra capital investment in a new base verses a second-hand base has financial benefits through R&M and downtime reductions over the life of the machine and that’s where the lease options provide real value.”
Mr Davidson says the options developed under Equipment Lease Solutions enable contractors to get into a new Falcon winch-assist machine with relative ease. Options include lease-to-purchase, longterm leasing, short-term leasing and also financial solutions for outright purchasers.
“Some contractors are just not in a position to be able to put down a deposit and then get their bank to put up the rest of the finance, so we have tailored plans where they pay a daily rate and at the end of the agreed period (minimum four months) they generate equity to be used as a deposit for the purchase of the machine – it’s simple but it works,” he says.
“Others may just want to lease, either for a short term if they are doing woodlots for example, which would work very well for small crews. Leasing long-term might suit a large crew that doesn’t want to have too many machines on its books.”
Mr Davidson says contractors who are buying a winch-assist system can also lease one to start work almost immediately whilst their new machine is being built, effectively ‘bridging’ the contractor where using this type of technology may be a requirement to satisfy a contract.
The first Falcon winch-assist machine built under the new Equipment Lease Solutions has just been delivered to A&R Logging in Gisborne through a lease-to-purchase agreement and it’s also the first to sport the new look.
The Hitachi ZX280LC on which it is based, was stripped right back down to the tracks and re-constructed so that it now has a complete factory-built appearance and feel about the machine, with the winch drum hidden behind the guarding and new bodywork.
“We’re really excited by how the new winch-assist machine has turned out – it looks like an original equipment machine out of a factory, helping Equipment Lease Solutions boost its business, which has now reached its ninth machine transaction,” says Mr Davidson.
Whilst the first few lease machines are built on the ZX280LC base, Mr Davidson points out that customers can select another base if they wish and they are already looking at building one onto a Sumitomo for a prospective North Island customer.
DC Equipment currently has its 50th winch-assist machine on the production line to meet demand from both New Zealand and overseas customers, and has orders for many more in the pipeline.
Equipment Lease Solutions is also now tailoring machine lease packages beyond winch-assist machines, for example tracked excavators and falling machines. For further information see www. dcequipment.co.nz.
NZL