Target Amsterdam: European rental awards, International Rental Exhibition (IRE) and ERA convention.

The 2014 European rental Awards will be held at the RAI exhibition centre in Amsterdam on 25 June, 2014, during the International Rental Exhibition (IRE) and the European Rental Association’s annual convention. Murray Pollok reports.

The judging panel for the 2014 European Rental Awards has now been finalised and as in past years includes a good mix of senior rental and manufacturing expertise, with three rental company CEOs and an experienced JCB executive.

The full list is:

• Claudio Fiorentini (Managing Director - Special Projects, JCB Sales)
• Pedro Luis Fernandez (CEO, GAM Alquiler, Spain)
• Sat Dhaiwal (CEO, A-Plant, UK)
• Vesa Koivula (ERA president & CEO, Cramo, Finland)
• Murray Pollok (Editor, IRN)
• (Non-Voting Chairman: Michel Petitjean (Secretary General, ERA))

The judges will meet in Brussels on 18 March to determine the shortlisted companies and winners. The deadline for entries is Friday 21 February.

Ritchie Bros is the Gold Sponsor for the awards, with Caterpillar, Grindex and Hilti confirmed as Silver Sponsors.

This year sees a return to the broader range of award categories that is used every three years, with six categories as well as a special Lifetime Achievement award, as follows:

Large Rental Company of the Year (turnover over €15 million)

Small/Mid-sized Rental Company of the Year (turnover under €15 million)

Rental Product of the Year (for product launched during 2013)

ERA/IRN Rental Person of the Year

Rental Marketing Campaign of the Year

Rental Safety Campaign of the Year

In addition, the judging panel may present a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards are open to any company operating in Europe, and companies do not have to be members of ERA to enter. Full judging criteria, together with the downloadable entry form, can be found at the awards website: www.khl.com/rentalawards

For the full list of categories, judging criteria, and to download the awards entry form, visit www.khl.com/rental awards.

The awards are jointly organised by International Rental News (IRN) and the European Rental Association (ERA). The winners will be announced at the awards dinner in Amsterdam on 25 June, during the International Rental Exhibition (IRE) and ERA Convention.

About the judges

Claudio Fiorentini (Managing Director - Special Projects, JCB Sales) Mr Fiorintini is a long-time senior executive with JCB in Europe. He joined JCB’s Italian business in 1987 as marketing director, rising to managing director in 1995, a post he kept for almost 14 years before becoming president of JCB Spa and managing director of European sales.

Pedro Luis Fernandez (CEO, GAM Alquiler, Spain) Mr Fernandez is founder, CEO and chairman of GAM, the largest rental company in Spain, which recently celebrated its 10^th year in business. As well as its operations in Spain, GAM rents equipment in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South and Central America.

Sat Dhaiwal (CEO, A-Plant, UK) Mr Dhaiwal has been chief executive officer of A-Plant and a director of Ashtead group since March 2002. He was managing director of A-Plant East, one of A-Plant’s four operational regions, from May 1998 to March 2002, having joined the company in 1993.

Vesa Koivula (ERA president & CEO, Cramo, Finland) Appointed president of the European Rental Association last summer, succeeding Gerard Deprez, Mr Koivula is also CEO of Cramo, a position he has held since 2003.

Murray Pollok (Editor, IRN) Mr Pollok has been editor of IRN magazine since its launch and has been writing about the rental industry for 20 years.

International Rental Exhibition (IRE)

The International Rental Exhibition (IRE) returns to the Amsterdam RAI exhibition centre in June 2014, although this year with the added benefit of being held concurrently with the APEX aerial platform show, taking place in an adjoining hall. APEX attracts thousands of rental visitors from all over the world.

More than 30 companies have already committed to attending, including Armada Dynamics, BBA Pumps, Brendon Powerwashers, Containex, Dantherm, GreenMech, Hitachi, Hilti, Himoinsa, InspHire, Intermat, Kaeser and Off Grid Energy.

Also attending are Schwamborn Gerätebau, Swepac, Terex Compact, Thwaites Dumpers, Tower Light, Trackunit, Trelawny, Varisco, Western Global and Yanmar Construction Equipment.

Visitors to IRE will be able to visit the APEX show taking place in an adjoining hall at the RAI. APEX promises to be one of the largest collections of access equipment anywhere in the world this year, with more than 100 exhibitors, including Terex AWP/Genie, Manitou, JLG, Comet, Skyjack, Holland Lift, MEC, Socage, Riwal, Imer, Merlo, Teupen, TVH, Ruthmann, Bronto, Palfinger Platforms, Multitel Pagliero, CMC, Dinolift and Omme Lift.

For details visit the show websites at www.IREshow.com and ww.APEXshow.com.

E-mail: Murray.Pollok@khl.com