Page 108 • August 4, 2021 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT GUIDE
Weather Warranty Helps Contractors With Unforeseen Costs, Project Delays Weather events can wreck construction sites and timelines. In fact, many contractors lament it is the leading cause of project delays. Inclement weather can create unsafe working conditions, damage equipment, delay material deliveries, block jobsite access points, move materials, deposit debris and lead to potential legal issues. And these obstacles can extend project timelines, waste time and materials, and increase construction costs. Even when contractors do everything right when it comes to planning for weather events and mitigating their effects, severe or inclement weather can cause unforeseen delays. Severe weather events and natural Built-in bad weather protection plan eliminates the contractor’s worry disasters have become more frequent that bad weather will push the job schedule out longer than their rental, and intense. According to the Insurance and it removes the budget-busting potential of normal extensions, since Information Institute, there were an Weather Warranty pays the full cost. average of 520 natural catastrophes per year between 1989 and 2018. In 2019, there were 820 of matically extending equipment rental due to project delays them — a nearly 60 percent increase from the average over caused by bad weather, 75 percent said they would pay extra for the service. the past three decades. And, it’s not only the contractors who benefit. Weather Weather events can increase construction costs. In total, weather-related delays cost the U.S. construction industry $4 Warranty pays rental dealers to provide additional days with the equipment if a jobsite experiences extreme rain, wind or billion annually. When companies rent equipment, and there is a project cold temperatures, and there is no charge to the rental comdelay due to an unforeseen weather event, they often need pany for partnering with Weather Warranty. “Weather Warranty is my new secret weapon. Like everytheir rentals extended to accommodate the new schedule. So, while contractors clean up their sites and try to get back on body else, I’ve been competing in the market on my equiptrack, they also need to scramble to extend their equipment ment, my price and my reputation, but at the end of the day, rentals or rent other equipment if the original rental isn’t I’m still always looking for that one thing that’s going to set us apart from every other rental dealer. When I discovered available beyond the return date. And, they have to secure the equipment rental when other Weather Warranty, I knew I’d finally found it. Now I’m the contractors in their area are in the same situation, which leads guy that can say to my customer ‘If you rent from me, you to a demand surge as contractors compete for the same don’t have to worry about the weather’. How cool is that? Big win,” said Mike Travis, former owner and general manequipment. Weather Warranty provides a weather protection add-on ager of CER Equipment Rental (CER). “CER and Weather Warranty help me to solve a real probfor equipment rental customers. The company provides equipment renters an automatic extension of their rental lem that I face daily. I feel like I can finally sleep at night. agreement (or enough store credit to rent again when the After a while, I just said to CER, ‘This is a no-brainer. Just weather clears) when severe weather causes unexpected include it on all my contracts,’” said Dick Charleau, presidelays. It lessens the impact of bad weather in advance by dent, Mid-Mass Renovating. Every machine and every rental is eligible for Weather enabling the customer to lock in rental extensions if they pay Warranty. No exclusions. And, by offering Weather a small fee at the time of the rental. The service works similar to travel insurance when you Warranty, shops like CER average 5 to 8 percent extra revbook a flight. If something goes wrong, and you can’t fly on enue per rental. Founded in 2020 — in a year of a record-breaking number those dates, you’re taken care of and able to rebook at a later date without having to pay full price for a new ticket. When of tropical storms to affect the United States — Weather you request Weather Warranty on your equipment rental, and Warranty is a new solution to an old problem. “If project-delaying weather events are a contractor’s weather delays your schedule, the rental gets extended autogreatest enemy, then the rental dealer who can provide them matically. This built-in weather protection plan eliminates the con- with what they need, when they need it, and in a way that tractor’s worry that bad weather will push the job schedule does not blow up their budget becomes the contractor’s out longer than their rental, and it removes the budget-bust- biggest ally,” said Rick Wilmot, co-founder and product lead ing potential of normal extensions since Weather Warranty at Weather Warranty. “Help your customers plan for the unexpected and offer them what no one else can — an equippays the full cost. When Weather Warranty polled contractors about auto- ment rental experience without the weather worries.”
NORTRAX www.nortrax.com 1505 Caribou Road • New Canada, ME 04743 207/834-6701 34 Page Road West • Hermon, ME 04401 207/947-6786 106 North Street • Houlton, ME 04730 207/532-6517 396 County Road • Westbrook, ME 04092 207/773-3777 98 Sheep Davis Road • Pembroke, NH 03275 603/225-2769 14 The Crossing Boulevard • Clifton Park, NY 12065 518/371-5111 1486 US Highway 11 • Gouverneur, NY 13642 315/287-0703 300 Clinton Street • Springfield, VT 05156 802/885-6840 375 Engineers Drive • Williston, VT 05495 802/658-2121
RUDD EQUIPMENT COMPANY www.ruddequipment.com 4344 Poplar Level RD • Louisville, KY 40213 502/456-4050 Pittsburgh, PA 412/741-1731 Clearfield, PA 814/765-8500 Charleston, WV 304/755-7788
SCHMIDT EQUIPMENT INC. www.schmidtequipment.com 80 Southbridge Rd. • North Oxford, MA 01537 508/987-8786 Billerica, MA 01862 978/667-4345 Plymouth, MA 02363 508/830-9997 No. Swansea, MA 02777 508/379-9810 Springfield, MA 01104 413/543-5595
