Tier 4... that dirty little phrase that makes so many people cringe. Whether you're an equipment designer trying to reduce diesel fuel emissions to mandated levels, or an equipment operator attempting to meet job specs for clean-burning equipment, or in your case, a rental business owner trying to make a profit off of your equipment fleet, everyone has been and might still be frustrated by the changes brought forth by Tier 4 Final emissions regulations.
Fortunately, the hard part appears to be over... for now. According to Todd Howe with Doosan Portable Power, equipment owners have begun to adopt and accept Tier 4 equipment and they understand what's needed to keep it running optimally. The real trick now, for equipment rental businesses, is in figuring out how to get rates up to cover the increased cost of Tier 4 machines. While that might prove to be tricky, there are features being introduced on today's machines that promote higher return on investment through improved performance and economy.
Things like onboard load management systems and paralleling capabilities are helping equipment owners get the most from their generator investment. Meanwhile, fuel economy is something that promises to become more of an issue going forward.
"When you look at the life-cycle cost of a generator, acquisition and maintenance costs are relatively small pieces of the pie, Howe asserts. “The biggest piece of the pie by far is fuel. Anything that can be done to reduce that or at least get more hours of use... will be important.”
Take a look at page 4 to see some of the new generators available to the market today. For a deeper look into the technology that's available on today's machines and what we can expect going forward, see the article "Generators Move Toward Greater Economy & Performance" on page 8. No matter what, demand for power isn't going anywhere but up, so be sure you choose your equipment wisely in order to maximize the potential for success.
