17.08.2007

Versalift and Rise sign rental accord

Versalift the van mounted boom lift manufacturer and Rise Hire, the van mounted rental company acquired by Lavendon earlier this year, have announced a formal rental co-operation agreement.

The deal envisages the two companies working closely together to offer customers a wider choice of products and services as a result Rise Hire is now the official hire partner to Versalift.

One way that this will work is in that Rise will provide Versalift buyers with new models for evaluation or as fill in while a buyers own lift is built.

Versalift and Rise Hire are also working together to increase operator safety training availability to each others customers.

As part of this deal Rise Hire, now the UK’s largest van mounted rental company, recently ordered 52 additional Versalift lifts, comprising of 12.9m, 14.2m, and 16.5m platforms on both Ford Transits and Iveco Daily’s.
See Rise add 66 new lifts
Nic Rae managing director of Rise Hire said: “As market leaders, we feel that we have a responsibility to ensure that we offer the best equipment and best service to our customers and we are delighted to have entered into the hire partner relationship with Versalift”.

Steve Couling, managing director of Versalift UK, said: “we are delighted that Nic Rae of Rise decided that our offer was the most complete package and this order confirms our ability to provide as wide a service and support to the market as possible.

Vertikal Comment

Versalift and Rise Hire have worked together for many years and until recently the Rise fleet was almost exclusively Versalift.

This agreement is probably not as significant as the headline suggests, it will of course provide Versalift with a pre-agreed rental offering that it can market to its end user customers and potential buyers as an extra service.

The volume of business provided by Versalift to Rise is not likely to be substantial, and many customers will choose to make their own arrangements.

While it is almost all upside for Rise Hire, it could add a significant negative twist for Versalift, if other rental companies feel that it has become a partner to one of its competitors.

It is an interesting move that other manufacturers will be watching.