EUROPEAN RENTAL AWARDS 2010
The European Rental Awards were held at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, UK, on 26 May as part of the European Rental Association's annual Convention.
Co-organised by International Rental News and the European Rental Association, the awards are designed to recognize and celebrate excellence in rental. The awards were sponsored by Ritchie Bros Auctioneers (Gold Sponsor) and Hewden (Silver Sponsor).
To see details of the shortlisted companies CLICK HERE
The winners and shortlisted companies in each of the categories were:
Rental Company of the Year (more than 10 depots)
Aggreko (WINNER)
A-Plant
Malthus
Rental Company of the Year (10 depots or less)
Lipac Liftar (WINNER)
Cofiloc
Dest Bul (Destination Bulgaria)
Hoyde Service
Rental Product of the Year
Haulotte Group (H28TJ+) (WINNER)
Dustcontrol (AirCube aircleaner)
Hitachi (ZX14-3)
Niftylift (Height Rider 21 Bi-Energy)
ERA/IRN Rental Person of the Year
Mendes Migotto (Gruppo Venpa3) (WINNER)
Erkki Norvio (Ramirent)
Pierre Boels (Boels Verhuur)
Lifetime Achievement Award
George Burnett (founder and former CEO of Ashtead Group)
THE WINNERS
Rental Company of the Year (more than 10 depots)
Aggreko
In 2008, while other rental companies were struggling to adapt to changing market conditions, UK-based Aggreko managed to maintain its growth, increase its profits, expand its global footprint and win many of the major power/temperature control rental contracts of the year, including the Beijing Olympics (where it supplied 140 MW of power), the European football championships and the US SuperBowl.
During the year it also won the contract for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, and is now operating on the site of the 2012 London Olympic Games as a member of one of the two Olympic rental consortia.
Aggreko's financial results tell the story of a company at the top of its game, developing new markets and cementing its place as the leading renter of power and temperature control equipment in the developed western European and North American territories.
Despite the recession, 2008 revenues in North America rose 15% and in Europe by 11%, with trading profits in each region up 17% and 20%, respectively. The company continued to invest both in its fleet and in its internal manufacturing facilities. Fleet investment in 2008 was around £260 million, and the company announced in October that it will invest £20 million in a new generator production facility in Scotland close to its Glasgow headquarters.
2008 also saw the company continue with its ‘infill' acquisitions policy. It bought the power rental operations of Cummins in India, and acquired a Canadian rental company that supplies power to the Oil Sands area.
Rental Company of the Year (10 depots or less)
Lipac Liftar
One of the two powered access specialists in this year's small company shortlist, Sweden's Lipac Liftar AB has a fleet of 650 units rented from seven locations in the central region of the country.
The last four years has seen Lipac double its turnover SEK 51.8 million (€4.8 million), during which is has remained profitable. The expansion has only been through organic growth and not through acquisitions.
Lipac is one of the most innovative companies in Europe's access rental market. It only used vegetable hydraulic oils for its entire hire fleet, and since 2005 it has replaced conventional diesel with ultraclean EcoPar fuel, which decreases carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 50%.
Furthermore, the company is pioneering a unique operator safety initiative in Sweden. The construction industry in Sweden has implemented an intelligent, standardised identity card called ID06. The card can be equipped with RFID tags and used to store data on training etc. Now, Lipac and a company called SafeTool have developed a system that uses an operator's ID06 card to start up the aerial platform. The manager on site gives a worker access to a certain lift - the worker then has to use his ID06 card to start that machine. The card will not work on any other lift.
Lipac says; "The ID06 system prevents users from using the wrong lift. It also prevents users from ‘stealing' lifts from each other". "The system gives the manager of the construction site a vital tool to follow the regulation that only certified workers are allowed to use lifts." The system has been tested with one of the largest construction companies in Sweden, NCC, at a large construction site in Norrkoping, Sweden.
Haulotte Group (H28TJ+)
In developing the H28TJ, Haulotte Group aimed to create a product that would simultaneously meet the needs of the world's two largest aerial platform markets - North America, where telescopic booms are very popular, and Europe, where more versatile articulated booms are given preference.
Haulotte's answer was a telescopic boom with a unique 5 m long, telescopic fly jib, combining the reach of a telescopic model (maximum outreach is 23 m) with the ability to reach inaccessible spots using the fly jib. The unit also has a good platform capacity of 350 kg.
As Haulotte says, "The H28TJ+ allows users to reach the areas of work which are the most inaccessible to traditional telescopic booms, and to approach a building when the rear of the worksite is cluttered."
The lift uses Haulotte's latest generation control panel (offering simultaneous and proportional control of movements), and its manoeuvrability is enhanced by the use of an oscillating axle, narrow fixed-width frame, 4-wheel drive as standard, hydrostatic transmission and differential lock.
ERA/IRN Rental Person of the Year
Mendes Migotto (Gruppo Venpa3)
Mendes Migotto is managing director of Gruppo Venpa3, the largest rental company in Italy, with more than 50 branches or joint venture companies in Italy and Eastern Europe. It now employs over 370 employees, has a fleet of 6800 machines and attachments, and its regular 20% annual revenue growth took total group sales to over €55 million last year.
Although strongest in northern and central Italy, over recent years Venpa has been expanding into southern Italy and also into eastern European markets such as Slovenia.
Mr Migotto has also led Venpa3 as it diversifies beyond its aerial platform focus towards earthmoving equipment.
Under his leadership, Venpa3 has focused on service, with 120 service staff, as well as safety and training. Gruppo Venpa3 is an accredited IPAF training centre.
Beyond his activities with Venpa3, Mr Migotto is working with the ERA to help the development of the Italian rental market, and is also working towards official recognition in Italy of rental activity in legal, insurance and financial matters.
George Burnett (co-founder and former CEO of Ashtead Group)
George Burnett co-founded Ashtead Group in 1984 when he acquired a rental company in the south east of England with just 5 depots and revenues of £1 million. In the subsequent 22 years he grew Ashtead into one of the world's largest equipment rental companies, with leading businesses in two major rental markets, A-Plant in the UK and Sunbelt Rentals in the US.
George was instrumental in all the key moves undertaken by the company and successfully led it through the US economic downturn of 2001/2. He retired from the business in late 2006, after overseeing the acquisition of another major US company, NationsRent.
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