The reasons customers rent test and measurement equipment are analogous to the reasons people go to a car rental agency, according to Jim Platner, Vice President of Business Operations with Electro Rent, a global test and measurement equipment rental company.
“We are just like a lot of the rental car companies that people go to for a certain size car that they need for a few days for a certain price,” he said, “as opposed to buying a car just to take a vacation.”
From acquiring, to using, to disposing test and measurement equipment, renting may make sense for a company’s bottom line, Platner said. The rental option gives companies the ability to manage costs and pay only for the time they need the equipment, versus footing the total cost of ownership, which includes the cost of acquiring the equipment, maintenance and calibration, and disposal of the asset.
Some customers rent test and measurement equipment for weeks, while others need the equipment for months at a time. Some will lease it for 12, 24, or 36 months, according to Platner. “Again, similar to car leasing, you can have the equipment with the latest and greatest features, and you can manage your operating expense within a certain budget, compared with buying the new product yourself,” Platner said.
Another advantage to renting versus owning is covering the peaks and valleys of a business’ demands. “If you have to scale up to meet the demands of a big project that takes just a couple of months to complete, that’s a great opportunity to use rental equipment to top off those peak requirements,” Platner said.
With the end of the year coming, many companies find themselves with new projects but little CapEx budget remaining. Renting equipment may provide these organizations with a way to use OpEx budget to meet CapEx requirements. Other organizations may have excess “use it or lose it” budget that must be consumed by the end of the year. In these cases, the immediate availability of certified pre-owned equipment can save the day when OEM lead times are too long due to supply chain woes. Renting test equipment is also a good way to bridge longer new equipment lead times that are affecting the industry.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Electro Rent is one of the largest rental companies for test and measurement equipment in the world, serving customers in North America, Europe and Asia with $1.2 billion dollars of inventory. Electro Rent operates across all four time zones in the United States, providing rental, leasing, and sales of electronic test and measurement equipment, as well as personal computers and servers.
Electro Rent rents equipment from a broad range of RF, Digital Design, Electrical Power, and general purpose test and measurement manufacturers, including more than 300 brands. It partners with major manufacturers, including AFL, Anritsu, Exfo, Fluke Networks, Keysight Technologies, NI, Rohde and Schwarz, Tektronix and Viavi Solutions. And, it has specialized capabilities in terms of its sales consultants and support staff that ascertains customers’ needs, directs them to the right products, makes sure the products are delivered and provides support throughout the process.
In addition to the aerospace and defense, and semi-conductor markets, Electro Rent serves the entire telecommunications (wireless and wireline) industry, from service providers to the network equipment manufacturers, including primary contractors and their subcontractors. Rental and pre-owned equipment is tested for full functionality and calibrated in the company’s A2LA-accredited laboratories, or by its approved calibration partners.
“We maintain our own equipment and we have a certified lab for different standards,” Platner said. “We work with the OEMs so we can certify our own equipment to make sure that it is calibrated and performing to their specifications.” Therefore, Electro Rent’s customers can prove to their customers that the tool that they used to certify their work was within calibration.
And in the telecom arena, where standards change frequently, Electro Rent is assisting the industry with the transition from 4G to 5G. “There’s a lot of emerging standards,” Platner said. “We have to work with our OEM partners to make sure that we have their latest tools. And they are, of course, working with the service providers and the network equipment manufacturers to make sure that they’re handling and supporting all the methods and procedures to install and maintain their products.”
While Electro Rent offers different rental options, from short term to long term, as well as leases, Platner said the company understands that renting isn’t for every company. And so, Electro Rent also sells new and used equipment to companies looking for a low-cost entry into equipment ownership. There are also different financing options for customers who want to ultimately own the equipment. The company then invests the proceeds of the sales back into its pool of rental equipment.
To learn more about Electro Rent, visit https://www.electrorent.com/us. Also, you can hear more from Jim Platner, recently featured on Inside Towers’ Tower Talks podcast here.
By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor
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