Energyst to double power fleet over next three years
03 February 2012
Energyst said it was well positioned to capitalise on the growing demand for power rentals worldwide and that it would more than double its fleet power capacity over the next three years.
The Netherlands-based company, which is owned by 10 European Caterpillar dealers, has just signed a cooperation agreement with Caterpillar reinforcing the relationship between the two.
Gary Smith, the ex-Avis/Barloworld executive from South Africa who joined Energyst last April, told IRN that Energyst was benefitting from the close relationships that it has with its Cat dealer owners. He pointed out that several of these have operations outside of Europe, including Barloworld (in South Africa and Russia) and Finning (in several South American countries), and that they would help open up opportunities in international power projects.
The company's main operations are in Europe, and after several difficult years Mr Smith said Energyst had grown "very strongly" in 2011 and was now ready to invest further in its business, both in Europe and internationally.
"We see a lot of potential in Europe, there is still a lot that we want to do", said Mr Smith, "We've cleaned up our European operation very nicely and had one of the best years ever in 2011. We see our revenues going up quite strongly.
"We're building our products across the board - investment is quite significant. We will be more than doubling our capacity in the short term [within three years]."
Mr Smith also expanded on Energyst's relationship with APR Energy and Energy International, two other power rental companies that recently announced cooperation deals with Caterpillar and its dealers.
He told IRN that although the relationship was clearly one of competition, Energyst would also be able to collaborate with them where required; "It gives us flexibility that we didn't have in the past. Instead of operating in isolation, we can work together. Historically, we had to walk away from jobs where we didn't have the capacity."
The full interview will appear in the March-April issue of International Rental News (IRN).
