01.03.2004

The Rental show.... continued

The new weekend format for the rental show, seems to have worked; A number of exhibitors said that Saturday was a little quiet, however it seemed a lot busier than day two of one and two years ago. Day three, was true to ARA form, quiet!. Most visitors I spoke to liked the weekend format, meaning fewer workdays lost and the possibility to make it a family weekend away.

Following on from our earlier report a quick round up of what was new or happening on the stands:

Haulotte is still not commenting on any takeover of UK Platforms, while not denying anything, they will not add to or clarify anything that has been reported. So watch this space and expect some interesting announcements this week.

While not willing to discuss the UK Platforms, Pierre Saubot, was happy to talk about business in general he is cautiously optimistic concerning the worldwide market for aerial lifts in 2004. He was also very encouraged by the show and the feedback from American customers. The Easy crane on show for the first time in America, was attracting far more interest than expected, while orders were placed Haulotte Faresin Telehandlers.

Skyjack was out in force and also seeing a steady pick up in the North American market, Sky Jack president Lloyd Spalding stated that he was relatively optimistic for the year ahead. The company focused much of its emphasis on Rough Terrain scissors, the new outrigger auto leveling system, looked simple and easy to use, but show rules did not permit a demonstration. New models included two new models for the “Mid Size” range the 8243 and 8850, the latter offering 17 metres platform height in an amazingly compact format. The new units are not intended to replace existing heavy-duty models, so no dual decks or high lift capacity, more a compact economical high reach scissor for general overhead applications. The mini scissor range has also been upgraded, with a new common 46 inch (117cm) wide chassis and longer 1.2 metre deck extensions.

Snorkel, were in modestly upbeat mode, and are quietly getting on with the job of bringing the once famous name back from the brink. The stand was certainly a popular one, in addition to chief operating officer Frank Scarborough and his growing sales team lead investor Al Havlin was manning the booth throughout the show. In terms of new developments an added Jib has created a new TB 42, 13 metre straight boom. The team is also getting ready to relaunch the brand in Europe at next months Bauma. The business now has a good solid base with over 200 employees on board at production plants in the USA and New Zealand. They are not in a hurry or have any desire to chase the market leaders but are working to create a sound reputation with their loyal customer base. They are certainly one to watch.

Following our comments in the January issue of Cranes&Access, regarding the Genie 1932 and its replacement of the popular 1930 in Europe, "If it ain't broke" watch out for the reintroduction of a CE approved 1930, probably as an indoor only machine. In North America the units overall width was never changed from its popular 30 inches (76cm).

Sumner Lift showed a very “natty” mini material lift, designed to go in the back of a car and to carry out smaller jobs such as lifting big espresso machines up onto a counter top, with new European rules limiting the amount an employee may lift unassisted, they may well have a real winner here.

New Aluminium mast lifts included a 15 and 19 foot (five and six metres) “no outrigger” push around unit from JLG and a new Stock picker platform for Genies GR “Runabout” range.

JLG, Snorkel and Genie all had new or improved boom lift welding packages on their stands, and it was clear that the focus on user attachments and options is growing rapidly, JLG featured a number of platform based trade packs on their scissor lifts, including, an electricians workstation and an outboard sprinkler pipe carrier.

JLG talked about its telehander branding plans with Sky Trak, JLG, Gradual and Lull all having different distribution networks and market positioning in order to maximize market coverage and win market share.

Terex showed two Telehandlers on its stand, including the newly Americanized TX5519 from the Italmec plant in Italy. They too spoke of branding and distribution programmes. The plan is for the Terex compact equipment group to sell Terex compact products to traditional AED type distributors, while the Genie team sell the same products to rental companies, in North America though there are no plans to badge as Genie.

IPAF exhibited under the Aerial Work Platform Training inc (AWPT) banner and were busy throughout the show, they also announced the formation of an advisory council to help implement AWP training programmes The council will comprise representatives from Manufacturers, rental companies, distributors, safety and trade organisations, unions and insurance companies. The aims being to create awareness of the programmes and promote the need for better, more structured training while making sure that the programmes meet state and local requirements.

In summary a very good, very positive show, with several exhibitors stating that they had record sales from their stands, and everyone very positive about the mood and the prospects for the rest of 2004.