17.05.2006

Kranlyft to enter UK rental

Kranlyft, the Maeda and Kato cranes distributor across Europe, is to enter the UK mini crane rental market in June. The company is starting off with around 10 or 11 new cranes and has appointed Alan Peck as general manager of the hire division. Peck was previously with Speedy Hire, including the lifting division.

Peck told Vertikal that the company hoped to have between 15 and 20 units in the fleet by the end of the year. The move into rental will coincide with the company’s move to a new purpose built 1,350 square metre facility in Avonmouth.

Kranlyft has also appointed Caledonian Cranes of Glasgow and Aberdeen, as its distributor for Scotland. John Stalker of Caledonian told Vertikal.Net that it plans to follow Kranlyft's new strategy, both renting and selling mini cranes.
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(L-R) Alan Peck and Terry Marnock of Kranlyft UK with John Stalker of Caledonian Cranes

Vertikal Comment

Kranlyft is following the lead set by Unic Cranes Europe, which started with a rental fleet and then added sales. Kranlyft has tried hard to stay out of rental in order to avoid competing with its potential customers.

However Unic has had the edge, being able to rent to customers who like the concept but are not sure enough to buy. It also creates a steady stream of good used models for those with smaller budgets.

The problem with Kranlyft is that the UK crane hire fraternity are very poor at spotting or adopting new ideas or products. While Kranlyft has tried to “do the right thing” by the UK crane hire industry it has lost out to Unic, which has not allowed such sensibilities to hold it back.

The Maeda is an excellent crane, and with a rental professional on board Kranlyft might not only claw back some market share, but also help expand the growth of the mini crane market.

The key to wider spread usage is the easy and local availability of rental units.