EPL Skylift plans £4 million investment in 2012

After a two year spending freeze, Rob McMeeking, the managing director of the EPL Skylift said that the UK vehicle mount division of the Lavendon Group will spending around £4 million on new equipment next year.

Mr McMeeking, who has been with the Lavendon group some 15 years in a number of primarily financial roles, said that the 2012 CapEx will add 90 new units to the fleet - mostly replacement of van-mounts.

The EPL Skylift fleet is a combination of Lavendon's Rise Hire van mounted fleet and its Skylift truck mounted fleet with the fleet acquired when the company bought EPL around two years ago. The businesses were consolidated into EPL Skylift at the end of 2009. The entire fleet comprises 330 van mounts and 240 truck mounts with working heights from 14m to 72m.

Mr McMeeking took over as managing director of the division in October 2010 and has been working to bring the quality of the fleet - in terms of maintenance and aesthetics - in line with Lavendon's self propelled offering.

"We want to be the premiere vehicle mount business in the UK - measured by service levels," he said. "The service levels you would expect from a market leader and we're not a million miles away from that now."

It is through good service that Mr McMeeking believes the company can achieve improved rental rates - another initiative he has been pursuing over the last year.

Read the complete interview with Rob McMeeking in Access Internationals November/December issue.