Zeppelin Rental hits record sales in July

Germany's Zeppelin Rental said it generated revenues of almost €20 million in July, a record for the business, and said the order backload for construction work in the country would lead to increased demand in the coming months.

Zeppelin Rental made a slow start to the year because of bad weather, but the Munich-based company – which is part of Caterpillar dealer Zeppelin – said the business was now gaining momentum and had made a good start to the second half of the year.

"The long winter and heavy rain forced all of us in the industry to work hard", said Wolfgang Hahnenberg, Zeppelin Rental’s board chairman. "In the first half we therefore remained below our expectations due to market conditions. However, we are currently on track to achieve our ambitious targets for the year in difficult situation and continue to gain market share."

The company said it continued to invest in its fleet, with 500 new construction machines and 400 new aerial platforms. Five new depots are planned in 2013, with three - located in Gießen, Mönchen-Gladbach und Dorsten-Schermbeck - already up and running.

"Construction order books are well filled. At more than €27 billion we have the highest backlog in the industry since 1999", said Zeppelin Rental sales director Peter Schrader, "This is currently leading to a significant increase in demand and will have a positive impact in the coming months on the rental.”

Zeppelin said the activity in construction and housing sectors was driven by domestic, foreign and institutional investors and linked to historically low interest rates.