Your Way or the Highway

Jan. 1, 2001
Dick Kagy believed he could offer better service to rental customers throughout Indiana and the adjoining states with a simple philosophy: "We do business
Dick Kagy believed he could offer better service to rental customers throughout Indiana and the adjoining states with a simple philosophy: "We do business on your terms." So, starting with a bank loan, a blank piece of paper and 20 years of experience in the rental business, Kagy built airWorx into a thriving rental company with two locations.

With one branch in an Indianapolis industrial park and the other on the outskirts of Warsaw, Ind., to serve northern Indiana, airWorx promises to match its customers' jobs with top-of-the-line equipment the customers can rent, lease or buy. airWorx has expanded its business to offer repair service on all brands of equipment to other rental companies.

airWorx employs 30 people and has nearly 400 pieces of equipment in its fleet, specializing in aerial work platforms and telescopic handlers. It all has happened in less than four years in the face of fierce competition, industry consolidation and rate wars.

Jim Brinkman, sales manager, joined Kagy a year ago and attributes the company's success to an obsession with customer service and the capability of making decisions without meandering through corporate approval procedures. On-time delivery, instant service and the willingness of management to acquire new equipment - especially new technology that can match customers' needs - have been keystones of airWorx's success.

A case in point is the acquisition of a new electric high-reach boom lift with an articulating jib boom and an auxiliary fuel-powered generator, a 60-foot platform height, a horizontal reach of 43 feet and four-wheel drive.

The boom has been out on rent almost continuously since airWorx bought it. Each time it's returned to the yard, it gets a thorough inspection and cleaning and the batteries are checked and fully recharged as a courtesy to the next customer. Usually, even before the work is done, there is another order for the machine.

"We saw the principal advantage of the [boom] as being what I call a `total-job machine' that would save time and money for our customers since it is suitable for both interior and exterior work," Brinkman said. "For most construction projects, the first machine we rent to a contractor is used to build the framework. It is usually a gasoline- or diesel-powered boom lift and, depending on the terrain, frequently is a four-wheel-drive unit. When the outside is done, the contractor has us pick up the fuel-powered boom lift and deliver an electric-powered machine to do the inside work.

"Our delivery rates are $50 per hour, so at a minimum a customer is paying an extra $100 for a second pickup and delivery. Furthermore, by renting two machines, the customer doesn't get the discounted rate for a single longer-term rental - weekly rates are always more per day than monthly rates."

Scheduling is easier for a customer who rents the 60-foot electric boom, Brinkman says, because the customer doesn't need to predict the exact day and time the exterior work will be finished and when a new machine will be needed. "Construction work has too many variables to be that precise," he says.

Brinkman says he has been able to document other savings for customers. "They can save $100 to $175 a week in fuel costs versus a traditional engine-powered product," he says. "A typical boom lift can consume up to 4.6 gallons per hour. At those rates, it equates to a $400- to $500-per-month savings in fuel. When we bought the machine, we knew that we could get a premium rental rate not only because of its newness, but because of its utility."

airWorx rented the electric boom to The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which draws more than a million visitors a year and recently was ranked the No. 1 family attraction in the Midwest by FamilyFun magazine. Each year the museum's guild sponsors a Halloween Haunted House, a specially built four-story structure erected and opened three weeks before Halloween.

The museum owns an older aerial work platform but rents additional equipment as needed, so Brinkman and the museum's director of operations, Mark Coovert, are well-acquainted. This year, as it came time to close and dismantle the Haunted House, Coovert called airWorx to rent a second machine to help do the work.

Brinkman recommended the 60-foot electric boom. The Haunted House is adjacent to the main museum building on a narrowly confined rise that is extensively landscaped. The museum staff required a machine with gradeability to drive up to the house, extended height and horizontal reach so workers could access all the house's components, yet light enough that it wouldn't crush the surrounding underground sprinkler system.

Because the work would be done during museum operating hours, Coovert also needed quiet operation to avoid distracting visitors. The electric boom, even in recharging mode, has a measured noise level of only 70 decibels at 23 feet, barely more than a normal conversational voice of 60 dB. Coovert also appreciated the nonmarking tires that wouldn't mar the aggregate surface of the sidewalks leading to the house.

The machine also met the requirements of the workers from ExpoDesign who were responsible for dismantling the house, refurbishing the worn parts and storing them until next year. With the boom's 500-pound platform capacity, lowering lightweight fiberglass decorations from the house was well within safe load limits.

Even though the unit is DC-powered, it still has a receptacle at the platform for hand tools, proportional controls for smooth boom operation and platform movement, and 400-degree noncontinuous boom rotation, which makes it easy to move the platform to a new work location without repositioning the chassis.

The 60-foot electric boom has been a valuable addition to airWorx's equipment inventory, helping the fledgling company solidify its position in a competitive market.

This 60-foot electric boom lift proved to be a useful rental item for The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and its popular Halloween Haunted House.