International News
Loxam Hooks Up With Zilok.com
Loxam, Europe’s largest rental company has partnered with Zilok.com, an online rental marketplace, to bolster its online presence and grow its customer base....
Diversity Helps U.K.’s Vp Post Solid First Half
British rental company Vp plc last week said revenue grew 7 percent for the first six months of its fiscal year ended Sept. 30. According to Vp’s interim results, revenue was £81.6 million, compared with £76 million for the same period last year. Operating margins increased to 17.1 percent, compared to 15.9 percent for last year’s first half....
Australia’s Kennards Opens Three Branches
Australian rental company Kennards Hire has added three branches in the past three months, including a second outlet on the Queensland Sunshine Coast. The three branches are in Maroochydore, Queensland; Mittagong, NSW Southern Highlands, and Drummoyne in Sydney’s inner west....
Lavendon’s ’08 Revenues Up; Will Cut ’09 Spending
British high-reach rental specialist Lavendon last week said its revenue for the 10 months ended Oct. 31 rose 36 percent compared with the same period last year on improved operating margins. The company said it remained confident it would deliver results in line with its expectations for the current year, despite difficult trading conditions across its UK and European operations....
Hewden Reorganizes U.K. Rental Business
U.K. rental company Hewden has announced plans to reorganize the company’s nationwide branches into three regions, each responsible for all types of equipment the company offers. The company previously had five geographic regions and five stand-alone product-specific divisions....
Spain’s GAM Posts Small Growth for First Three Quarters
Spanish rental company General de Alquiler de Maquinaria (GAM) had net profit of €19.6 million (about U.S. $24.6 million) for the first nine months of 2008, a 1.8-percent increase compared with the same period in 2007, the company said. Revenue was €282.3 million, while EBITDA was €120.8 million, a 29-percent year-over-year increase. Third-quarter revenues were about €95 million, a 5.5-percent year-over-year increase....
Australia’s National Hire Group Realizes Benefits From Coates Synergies
Australian equipment rental giant National Hire Group expects to achieve AU $30 million (about U.S. $18 million) in synergies with Coates Hire, which it acquired earlier this year. National Hire has combined its rental services division with the assets of Coates Hire in a new vehicle called Ned Group, jointly owned by The Carlyle Group, through a deal valued at about AU $1.5 billion....
Liebherr to Build Construction Equipment Plant in Russia
Liebherr International last week started a project to build an excavation and construction equipment production plant in the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia....
Cramo Posts Solid Nine Months, Cuts Spending As Economy Slows
Cramo Group, multi-national rental company based in Helsinki, Finland, hit its targets through the first nine months of 2008 with consolidated sales of €436.5 million (about U.S. $545.6 million), a 23.8-percent increase compared to the first nine months of 2007. Cramo jumped 20.7 percent in the third quarter, with €155.7 million in revenue (about U.S. $194.7 million), compared with €129 million for the same period of 2007....
Ramirent Posts Nine-Month Growth as Slowdown Takes Hold
International rental company Ramirent posted a net volume increase of 16.7 percent to €530.1 million (about U.S. 663 million) for the first nine months of 2008, compared with €454.5 million for the same period of 2007. EBITDA increased 1.8 percent to €172.3 million (U.S. $215.3 million), compared with €169.2 million for the year-ago period....
Australia’s Tuff Bryant Expects Second Half Profit Drop
The Tuff Bryant Group, an Australia-based crane and equipment rental company last week forecast a decrease in profits this financial year because of the global financial crisis. The company posted a 13.1 percent net profit increase during its fiscal first half ended Sept. 30....
IPAF Announces First Global Access Industry Awards
The International Powered Access Federation and its official magazine Access International have launched the first global awards specifically for the access industry. The trophies will be awarded on April 2, 2009 in Dublin, Ireland after the IPAF Summit....
New Zealand Rental Group Divests Distribution Division
New Zealand Rental Group, holding company of New Zealand national rental company Hirepool, last week announced the sale of two retail distribution companies, Nationwide Equipment and Power Plant Supplies to the group’s retail division general manager David Lee....
Wacker Construction Equipment to Close Welsh Wheel Dumper Plant
The executive and supervisory boards of Munich-based Wacker Construction Equipment last week decided to close its wheel dumper plant in Tredegar, Wales, and transfer production of Wacker Neuson wheel dumpers to its plant in Linz, Austria....
Volvo India to Focus More on Rental
Volvo India has decided to focus on rental business and used equipment sales during the current economic downturn, according to Indian news reports. Currently Volvo India has about 11 dealers and three of them have started Volvo Rents, while other dealers are preparing to enter the rental arena....
IronPlanet Appoints Managing Director of IronPlanet Europe
IronPlanet, a leading online auction company for used construction and agricultural equipment, recently appointed Tom Cornell to the position of managing director of IronPlanet Europe. Cornell will be responsible for leading IronPlanet’s expansion into the European marketplace....
Research Forecast Predicts U.K. Tool Hire Downturn Until 2010
An analysis of the U.K. tool hire market by a U.K. research firm shows that rapid changes caused by rising pricing pressure and cost-saving measures will dominate the market in 2009 and that as many as 25 percent of U.K. tool hire companies could be “at risk” in the deepening downturn....
U.K.’s Vp Acquires Power Tool Supplies
United Kingdom rental company Vp last week acquired Brighton, England-based Power Tool Supplies in a cash deal worth about £1.1 million (about U.S. $1.78 million). Vp said the company would be integrated into Hire Station, Vp’s tool rental business....
Aggreko Given Rapid Response Reward
Temporary power and temperature control services provider Aggreko was recognized for its rapid response capability by the Asian Power Awards 2008, decided by an independent panel of judges and organized by Asian Power magazine....
Wynne Systems Goes Live in China; Adds Loxam
Wynne Systems, Irvine, Calif.-based creator of the Rentalman management system recently expanded its software footprint with rental applications in China and Europe, the company said....
Coates Hire Names New CEO
Australia’s largest rental company Coates Hire last week named Leigh Ainsworth CEO. Ainsworth will take over in early November....
Aggreko Expects 50 Percent 2008 Profit Jump
Generator supplier Aggreko last week said that trading over the past three months has been better than expected, with company officials predicting a 50-percent profit jump in the second half of 2008. The company said that group revenue for the three months ending Sept. 30 grew 39 percent....
Ramirent Names Russia Country Manager
Ramirent, the Helsinki, Finland-based rental company active in more than a dozen countries, named Grigory Grif country manager, Russia. Grif has worked for Ramirent since 2004 as general manager of Ramirent’s operations in St. Petersburg, Russia....
Malaysian Rental Company Says Global Slowdown Is Helping Rental
Tractors Malaysia Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Bhd., said last week that the global economic slowdown is stimulating customers to choose rental over buying heavy equipment....
Speedy Hire Cuts Costs, Faces Future Uncertainty
In a trading statement issued ahead of Speedy Hire’s half-year results for the six months through September 30, Speedy said pre-tax profit is expected to be in line with the same period last year, but warned that the future outlook for the business is becoming increasingly difficult to predict. The Newton-le-Willows, England-based firm, the United Kingdom’s largest equipment rental company, said it has cut costs, including a 4-percent headcount reduction by the end of September, amounting to about 200 jobs. The company has also reduced capital expenditures from a planned £100 million-plus to about £75 million (about U.S. 128 million)....
