T he big decision to jump ahead or not ? Many asphalt paving contractors are there at the edge . They teeter ... weighing the pros and cons of adding their own cold planer to their equipment fleet . The question being wrestled with is whether the benefit outweighs the risk of a large investment . Is it worth it ? Or are they best off subcontracting or renting a machine when needed ? The opinions vary widely among paving contractors and can vary widely even within a single contractor who may be gung ho one day and cautious the next . With equipment ownership , there is the expense of purchasing , operating , transporting , and maintaining their own equipment , which can initially seem intimidating . “ We ’ ve found contractors who are looking to be ‘ in control of their own destiny ’ rather than waiting or scheduling a subcontractor to perform their milling needs are typically the ones most interested in acquiring their own mill ,” said Matt White , North American sales manager - milling for BOMAG Americas , Inc ., Ridgeway , S . C . “ There may also be scheduling issues with a rental house or subcontractors may not always be available when needed for work , causing project delays .” Contractors who want to grow their business and provide another form of service to their customers are likely to invest in a cold planer . “ Sometimes it ’ s a matter of how much control do you want to surrender to outside companies ,” White said . “ When you own the equipment , you own the quality of the work .” An asphalt paving contractor may need to step back and look at the business . www . callape . com [ 30 ] 1.800.210.5923