ELA-Container plans Middle East and Russia expansion

German portable accommodation rental company ELA-Container said it hopes to establish rental operations in Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Russia "as soon as possible".

The family-owned company already operates in Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary.

ELA, which is located in north west Germany close to the border with the Netherlands, told IRN that it already had contacts in the Middle East and Russia and that it planned to expand these contacts during 2010. The company will exhibit at The Big 5 exhibition in Dubai in November.

Günter Albers, who manages the business alongside fellow directors Tim Albers and Liesel Albers-Bentlage, said the company has already expanded its fleet from 18000 to 20000 units over the past year and that further growth was on the cards.

He said the global recession had impacted on some parts of its business in Germany, but that overall the slowdown "passed our business nearly completely and left it mostly unaffected. We have constant orders and the economics stimulus package (from our federal government) is also good for our business."