Dive Brief:

• The “sharing” economy has reached the construction industry, as contractors are leaning into the trend of renting rather than buying heavy equipment like excavators and cranes.

• Making that easier is Getable, a free mobile app that so far has connected 120 equipment vendors and 60 construction companies in California without requiring contractors to contact each supplier separately to check prices or place orders. Vendors pay Getable 10% of the rental fee they receive from the clients who connect with them through the app.

• The $16 million San Francisco-based startup has just raised $5 million from institutional investors as it plans to expand into New York, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta and Washington, DC, according to the New York Post.

Dive Insight:

Contractors are getting comfortable with renting versus owning. In fact, the American Rental Association estimates that half of all heavy equipment used on construction jobs is rented.

Sometimes slow to adopt new technology, more builders and contractors are embracing the use of apps. According to news website TechCrunch, 90% of general contractors use smartphones on job sites and 60% of their crews use iPads.