USED EQUIPMENT
Used Equipment is reshaping buying decisions Juanita Pienaar spoke with David Lawry, Owner of Machinery for Africa, to explore how contractors are navigating the shifting economics of equipment procurement in a constrained and uncertain market. Why used makes sense Across Southern Africa and beyond, the rising cost of capital equipment is fundamentally reshaping procurement strategies. For many contractors and mining operators, the decision is no longer simply about acquiring the latest machine; it is about survival, cash flow, and return on investment. “The main factor on equipment is price,” says David Lawry. “This equipment is expensive, and especially when mines or contractors are trying to purchase a fleet of equipment, the barriers to entry are high.” The high upfront costs are compounded by long lead times for new machinery, particularly in the mining sector. Lawry notes that for large-scale assets such as “150-ton-plus excavators or big mining trucks, lead times can stretch to up to two years or so to get a machine.” In a volatile global environment, this delay introduces significant risk. “Waiting for two years for a machine to come through, with currency and mineral price fluctuations and the political landscape, causes uncertainty and instability,” he explains.
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