Crushing, screening and mulching
Crushing, screening and mulching plant finance
Crushers, screeners, chippers and mulchers: wear parts, throughput, moving between sites and selling into a cyclical market.
Wear and throughput
Count the tonnes and the wear, not just the repayment.
Processing plant earns by the tonne and wears by the tonne. A repayment is fixed; wear parts, fuel and downtime move with the material and the contract. Before you compare finance, list what the machine consumes:
- Crusher wear parts, such as liners, plates and blow bars
- Screen media, conveyor belts and skirts
- Knives, hammers, rotors and feed rollers on chippers and mulchers
- Float, set-up and permits when you move between sites
- Support equipment such as a loader or excavator
- A contingency for the unexpected breakdown
Whether any of these can be rolled into a finance amount depends on the lender and the item, so ask early.
Rated versus real output
A brochure throughput is a ceiling reached in good conditions. Contracts are paid on what leaves the stockpile over days and weeks, so build your own utilisation figure from your records before you quote.
General information only. Not advice about your situation.
What lenders tend to look at
Three ways processing plant differs from a truck or a tractor.
Crushers and screeners
Tracked or wheeled, the question is how the machine moves, what it wears and who else in your region wants one if you need to sell.
Chippers and mulchers
Seasonal and project-based work makes the own-or-subcontract question central. Knives, rotor and feed system tell the story on a used machine.
Moving and resale
Quarry, construction and recycling markets rise and fall. Avoid a plan that depends on selling at a particular moment.
Contract work moves around. Your plant has to keep up.
Set-up days, float and standing time are part of the job price, whether or not the quote shows them.
More on processing plant
Our blog covers wear parts, own-or-subcontract maths for chippers and the questions to ask before you buy. For independent information on borrowing, see ASIC MoneySmart.
Start here
Planning the exit? See selling or upgrading specialist plant.
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