Outlook 2004

Feb. 1, 2004
Where will the growth come in rental in the coming years? Will rental rates really rise in 2004? Is there more consolidation to come? What do rental companies

Where will the growth come in rental in the coming years? Will rental rates really rise in 2004? Is there more consolidation to come? What do rental companies need to do to improve their operations? These are just a few of the questions answered by industry figures in this, the first part of RER's annual Outlook series.

RENTAL PENETRATION READY TO BOOM

Daniel Kaplan
CEO
Daniel Kaplan
Associates
Morristown, N.J.

RER: In your seven years as an industry consultant, you've traveled all over the world consulting for rental companies. Where do you see the most potential for rental growth in the coming years?

Kaplan: The greatest potential for growth is in underdeveloped countries, such as India and China. For sheer dollars, the greatest potential for growth is in North America.

Throughout the world, the penetration of rental versus ownership varies by continent and by country. For instance, in North America today I estimate the penetration of rental to be about 35 percent; in the United Kingdom 80 percent; in Europe 20 percent; and in India 2 percent. I estimate that in 2009 the penetration of rental versus ownership will further increase to 50 percent in North America, 40 percent in Europe, and 20 percent in India. The U.K. has reached maturity and will remain at 80 percent.

To illustrate my point, the market size in North America is $23.5 billion versus India where the market size is under $50 million. In five years, I estimate the North American rental market will grow 42 percent to $32 million. India will grow by an order of magnitude of ten to $300 to $400 million.

Please comment on some of the countries where you've observed the growth and potential for rentals. For example, you've talked about Honduras, India and Chile.

Before we speak about growth, let's talk about population and then growth potential. The present population of the U.S. is 283 million, India 1.0 billion, Honduras 6.4 million and Chile 15.2 million. Obviously India, with a population of almost four times that of the U.S. and no rental industry, holds incredible opportunity. Quipo, which just launched a rental company in India, is well-positioned. In Honduras, you find a small country that utilizes quite a bit of construction equipment — all owned. The penetration of rental is about 4 percent. The only rental company in Honduras is the Cat dealer, which has two stand-alone rental stores. Comercial Laeisz is in the process of launching a rental company. Honduras holds significant potential because the customer base is looking for rental as an alternative to ownership. The rental industry in Honduras will grow rapidly.

In Chile the penetration of rental is 20 percent, with an estimated market size of $75 million. There are essentially two large rental companies: SKC and Cat. There is a great opportunity for growth in Chile with the rental penetration probably doubling in five years and the market size also growing.

What are the most obvious deficiencies or, better said, areas that require improvement, in most U.S. rental companies?

The smaller rental companies do not fully understand the role of sales and new customer development in their businesses. They wait for the customer to walk in. Considerable work needs to be done in the sales area. In information technology; there are the haves and have-nots. The major rental companies are so sophisticated with their IT that they are leaving the smaller competition in an ever-growing deficient condition. The big guys every day are increasing the gap.

The most important deficiency of the smaller rental companies is personnel development. They are often not hiring promotable people; they are hiring people who at best can handle the job for today, not tomorrow. The big guys are on, essentially, a six sigma program to evaluate and strengthen their management and sales force.

As I ask that question, I wonder if there is a lack of leadership? As so many rental companies were acquired and so many of those owners and managers not remaining in the industry, is there a lack of quality leadership now in the rental industry?

There is no lack of quality leadership in the top 25 rental companies. They, for the most part, are on a constant evaluation and improvement program. But I don't think that holds true for the industry as a whole. To put things in perspective, there were about 500 rental companies acquired since the fall of 1997; there remain thousands of rental companies that have been in business for many years. What you are seeing is a lack of voice by the smaller players in the business more than a lack of leadership.

What we are also seeing today is the transformation of rental into big business, with publicly traded rental companies and fleet sizes in the billions of dollars. If anything, there is greater leadership today, than any time in the past 25 years.

You've spoken many times about rental companies not taking advantage of the software that is available to them in their systems. Is there a lack of quality educated people who would have the background and education and preparation to take advantage of what the software has to offer?

Most rental companies have rental software. The functionality of software varies greatly by supplier. Some companies offer software packages that are beyond “state of the art.” All software suppliers offer at a minimum time utilization and dollar utilization reports.

In my consulting, I am always surprised by the lack of most smaller size rental companies to utilize the very basics of their software. They don't know how a “month” is defined. Is a month 31 days, 28 days, 22 days or 730 hours? They just don't know, so how can they properly understand what the software is saying? Many companies do little more than write rental agreements with their software. If they produce reports, they don't know how to interpret or use them.

The problem is not leadership; it is lack of background and education on computer and software technology. They just don't understand the power of information and the disadvantage they operate under, versus the computer-literate competitor.

You've indicated that rental rates have been improving in late 2003 and you expect an improvement in rental rates in the first quarter of 2004. What do you base that prediction on?

David Rasco of Salomon Smith Barney did a study and chronicled the rental rate deterioration of the past couple of years and the improvement in the second and third quarter of 2004. I agree with David's study.

I am looking for rental rate improvements in 2004 in the 5 percent to 8 percent range. I base my prediction on three factors:

First, the rental fleets have been rationalized over the past three years and have now shrunk by more than 10 percent. Capex spending of the major rental companies in 2003 was one third of the capex spending of 2000.

Second, the economy is improving; non-residential construction is forecast to grow in 2004. Demand is beginning to exceed supply in rental equipment.

A third factor is the discipline of the major rental companies. The big guys are now looking at their own utilization rates and raising prices based on their own metrics. They have stopped listening to the sales person who advocated lower rental rates.

Rental company discipline is the reason I am bullish on rental rates in 2004. Look at the problems lower rental rates have caused during the last couple of years. There are rental companies emerging from bankruptcy; they have only one way to go: “raise rental rates.”

The industry's performance over the last couple of years has been dismal. Rental rates will lead us out.

You've mentioned that you'd like to see an improvement in the overall appearance and presentation of rental companies — nicer showrooms, more attractive, paved yards, and better signage. Speaking in general terms, what are some of the improvements you'd like to see?

The big guys got it right. The problem here is the mom and pop. Let's start with a well-lit pole sign identifying the rental company's name. Follow that by signage on the storefront. The branch should have a good layout with a flow to the business. Professional displays should be utilized so the equipment is clearly visible. The floors should be swept clean, and polished in the evenings, versus what I often see — warn through floor tiles. The staff should be neatly attired and cleanly shaven. Now you may think I am going a little far on this topic, but this is what I often see.

The yard should be well-organized and have a flow to it. There should be an equipment return area, a wash area, a maintenance area, and a ready line. Yards should not have the junk or scrap piles that you so often see. Yards should be paved, or at a minimum be stoned.

For the typical ARA member, most of their business is walk in. Appearance is critical to a walk-in business. What I am recommending is a professional looking establishment that is clean and well organized. The typical ARA member has some work to do in this area.

You've indicated that you've seen a lot more interest in the rental industry on the part of the investment community. Can you compare the current level and tenor of the interest to the kind of interest Wall Street had in the industry in the late 1990s?

The sector is hot. Hotter than it was in the late nineties. In the late nineties, the time of consolidation, the action was driven by a narrow band of entrepreneurs backed up with Wall Street money focusing on a few consolidation plays.

What I am seeing today are investment companies and hedge funds looking to buy bonds of the major rental companies at a discount and then flip them for a large profit. Some of this recent interest has been brought on by NationsRent's emergence from bankruptcy and the keen financial play by Baupost Bank and Phoenix Partners. The action is for large deals, for millions of dollars in size. I suspect these financial concerns see a turnaround in our sector. They like investing in companies with their investments backed up by equipment.

You have often predicted an increase in ownership of the rental channel on the part of manufacturers, such as we have seen from Atlas Copco, Caterpillar and Volvo, and the fact that a lot of manufacturers are studying this possibility. Are you still expecting to see an increase in this phenomenon? Would Deere's recent divestiture of its part ownership of Sunstate indicate a reversal of that trend, or is that simply indicative of a change in strategy on the part of Deere?

My prediction of the manufacturers owning the rental companies as a channel to market and to compete with Caterpillar is still valid. Hold on. I may have been a bit early, but I stand by my prediction.

BE IN TUNE WITH CUSTOMERS

Dave Christifulli
Vice president sales and product support
Wacker Corp.
Menomonee Falls, Wis.

What kinds of changes do you expect to see in the rental market over the next few years?

Christifulli: The small rental centers will continue to maintain their niche markets, which is primarily with smaller local and new start-up contractors and homeowners. Their continued success can be attributed to the well-established personal customer relationships they have developed and continue to nurture extremely well. We will continue to see further consolidation of national accounts through mergers and acquisitions. Hardware rental will continue to successfully expand because of the convenience it provides to the homeowner. The continued expansion of the big box consolidators is driven more by the small to medium-sized contractors. We could see them adding an outside sales force in the future.

The expected surge of new business startups by former rental center owners, whose companies were purchased by large consolidators, will be on a smaller scale than originally anticipated. This stems primarily from the age of the individuals, the increasingly competitive market conditions, and continued margin compression. Those that do re-enter will do so as franchisees or focus on niche products and markets for either homeowners or contractors, but not both.

The national rental companies have played a growing role in the rental industry over the past six years. Do you think that trend will continue, that the nationals' share of the market will increase further, or might the smaller independent companies make a comeback?

The answer is yes to both questions. Yes, the strong independents will continue to grow and diversify by differentiating themselves through value-added activities. Likewise, national rental companies will continue to grow as statistics show that rental is increasing in popularity due to lower rental rates versus higher acquisition costs. Big box suppliers will have a greater impact on independents since they focus on the same customer base, namely the homeowner and small contractors.

Indications are that the economy is improving and should continue to grow over the next couple of years. Are we likely to be at the beginning of a prolonged boom, such as began in the mid-90's, or do you see a smaller, more gradual boom?

Wacker is a global company, with production facilities and distribution operations throughout the world. As such, we are very cognizant of the fact that we are in a global economy, affected by other nations' economies and events. Domestically, economic growth for 2004 is predicted to be between 4 and 4.5 percent, which should provide companies with opportunities for significant revenue growth. Indicators for 2005 and 2006 show growth in the area of 3 percent, which should provide continued growth opportunities for manufacturers during this time frame. Given the improvements in our economy and a stable global economy, we do see possible expansion by the large consolidators and big box companies outside North America, specifically the European Community. Rapid changes in the global economy prevent us from looking beyond a three-year window.

Your company makes a lot of efforts to listen to your customers' needs — the end users as well as rental companies. How would you advise rental companies to do the same thing in relation to their customers?

The key to success is training every employee that has contact with the customer. We can't stress enough how important it is to be in tune with customers and provide solutions, not just products. Meeting customers' needs requires more than just selling or renting them a product; it means truly assessing their requirements by asking the right questions and listening closely to the answers. Customers should be confident that their investments result in the most cost-effective application considering total ownership cost and product-oriented solution.

What should a rental company look for in a manufacturer besides price?

We can't over-state the importance of innovation. In addition, breadth of product line and service are also important factors for rental companies to consider. It's important to evaluate what manufacturers are doing to improve channel process efficiencies and reduce costs.

At Wacker, for example, we have undertaken numerous initiatives that allow our entire organization to respond quickly and accurately. Without question, Wacker's e-commerce initiatives and Customer Contact Center have played a key role in this area, allowing us to provide prompt, accurate solutions through a single point of contact. The result is increased productivity, faster response and reduced costs for the rental dealer and the end customer.

What are some of the key concerns and issues manufacturers are currently facing?

At Wacker, we continually focus on cost reduction and improved process efficiencies. With rising energy, labor, and healthcare costs, combined with imported components and the devaluation of the dollar, this poses an even greater challenge to manufacturers. As a result, we must find new ways to reduce not only our internal costs, but also channel costs through both process and product improvements. Manufacturers and channel partners must work even more closely together, in the future, to reduce overall logistics and transactional costs.

At a time when the distribution channel and relationships between manufacturers, distributors and rental companies are tumultuous, Wacker seems to have a very stable and positive relationship with its customer base. What are some of the keys to that relationship?

We believe that a consistent company and sales strategy is vital to developing and maintaining strong relationships. This, combined with a stable, well-trained field sales organization, has significantly contributed to our success. In addition, Wacker has always employed a selective distribution strategy. Simply stated, traditionally there are two ways to take a product to market, either protective or multiple distribution. Just as we design and offer products to meet our customers' unique market requirements, we choose to implement a selective distribution strategy, partnering with a limited number of companies in each market area to ensure superior technical support and availability to our mutual customers without over-saturating the market with distribution.

Wacker is coming out with quite a few products in 2004. What kind of research does your company do to make sure it's producing what the industry wants?

Wacker strictly adheres to an extensive, well-defined product development process. We employ a multi-stage process from the customer through the entire operation. Once the product meets the process' stringent requirements, it is approved for introduction, and a comprehensive market introduction plan is developed and put into action.

SERVICE ABILITY STILL RULES RENTAL

Roger Euliss
President/Chief operating officer
Multiquip Inc.
Carson, Calif.

RER: My impression is the emergence of the national rental company has had a dramatic impact on the way manufacturers approach the channel, and therefore dealer networks are not what they once were — I guess this change was in motion already before consolidation began. Given the changes in distribution, is it harder for a manufacturer to get its products to market, to get services to customers?

Euliss: It is more difficult to introduce new products as most of the nationals try to standardize on given specs for their rental equipment. Other than that, it is certainly different, but I would not say more difficult.

How do you approach your dealer network in this day and age, and what do you expect of your dealers?

We have designed new programs that provide incentives to our customers that truly provide the support conventionally attributed to a true “dealer” operation as opposed to a primarily rent-to-rent operation.

Sales and marketing efforts, unit and parts inventory and equipment service ability remain as the key elements in the requirements for operating as a dealer. These elements still exist, but are frequently found in different places than several years ago. More independent rental/dealer organizations have increased the true “dealer” emphasis part of their business, and select locations of many of the nationals do operate as “rental/dealer” businesses.

How has your company changed in terms of the way it approaches the marketplace — that is the way it approaches the end user and the way it approaches the rental market?

Our core business is still the rental and rental/dealer operator. We have adjusted our approach in an attempt to provide the specific customer what is needed for his business model. Much of our emphasis is on different types of training and other support activities, and the end-user contractor is frequently the ultimate target of our efforts. They are the folks who ultimately determine what is rented or purchased.

What kind of changes do you expect to see in the coming years in terms of the distribution channel?

It appears that the requirement for the manufacturer to perform more and more of what used to be seen as a dealer's responsibility will increase. In many instances, the CE business almost wants to “rent” shelf space to the manufacturer similar to what the grocery business does for the cereal and soft-drink manufacturers. The key will be for the manufacturer to maintain a strong network of those truly full-service operators in the market, and there will always be some very good ones to select from.

Let's take a look at the rental market in the United States, which is our primary readership. What changes and trends do you foresee over the next few years that will affect the rental market?

Due to the well recognized over capacity in both construction equipment manufacturing and construction equipment rental fleets, there will be more consolidation in both areas. Rental rates and resale margins will remain under pressure due to both the overcapacity and the easy shopping available to all of our customers. Rental fleet life will probably not return to the terms experienced in the 1990s, and there will probably be more manufacturer-direct sales in the future. The “big boxes” will stay, expand and grow, and I believe that they will become a significant factor.

Narrowing that question down a bit more specifically, is there any advice you'd give to a rental company owner about how he approaches his business over the next few years?

Concentrate on providing high quality equipment, service, and training support. Provide something that the nationals and the big box rental operators cannot do so easily. Don't try to be everything to everyone, but identify a niche operations model and stick with it. This will result in the relationships that recognize the value added and negate a lot of the pure price-based decision making by the customer.

Are there any particular areas that, in your opinion, rental companies need to make particular efforts in, such as marketing or internal efficiencies? What kind of improvements do you feel are most needed?

Of course, constant attention to making any operation more efficient is paramount. Beyond that, I feel that improved marketing of the specific rental business would pay tremendous dividends. The nationals and big box operators certainly have the name recognition on a national basis. The independent operator must ensure that they can compete in their primary market. This can probably be done in a much different manner than the big guys — hey, maybe Krispy Kreme has some ideas — a “$0” advertising budget, but excellent name recognition.

Let's talk a bit about Multiquip. What are some of the primary plans for the company over the next few years in terms of product emphasis, and your approach to U.S. and international markets.

Currently we are working to fully integrate all the product lines that we acquired over the past several years. These additions resulted in some customer service and equipment quality challenges that continue to be addressed. As with the rental operator, I feel that MQ must provide the highest level of service along with quality equipment to remain as a strong contributor in our industry. We do continue to expand and grow our international business and see nothing but controlled growth in this segment.

Also, Multiquip is now making it simple for dealers, customers and end users to quickly get the information they need on any product no matter where they live or do business. At www.multiquip.com they can access product specifications, troubleshooting information, company news, and much more, 24 hours a day. This will be a growing service area of our business for some time to come.

Are there any particular issues that you have to confront that you feel will have an impact on rental companies and distributors?

As I mentioned, the many lines added in recent years caused our total customer support to not be where I feel it should be. Our entire team is working diligently to make adjustments and improvements that will directly benefit our dealer and rental customers.

Our recently introduced web-based “MQ Parts” program will be dramatically expanded over the next year or two, and this should prove to be a most valuable time and money-saving service for all of our customers.

Margins have diminished for manufacturers in recent years. How is this affecting product design, marketing, research and development?

We began an aggressive internal efficiency campaign over two years ago and have reaped some very good results. We better prioritize R&D projects, and try to limit them to workable numbers. For a while we simply had too many irons in the fire and product managers and engineers just could not keep up. I think the end results under our new direction will actually be more on-time rollouts of new and improved products and at lower development costs. A slow down in business does have positives. One can look at operations, identify waste and inefficiencies, and improve the overall business.

What kinds of trends and improvements are we likely to see in your products over the next few years — not only with Multiquip products, but also in the industry as a whole?

Certainly we will see continuous improvements in safety and environmental aspects of all equipment. Both areas should always be a major concern for manufacturers, but EPA, CARB, OSHA, CE, CSA, UL, UL2000 and many other US and international regulations are also forcing and enforcing safe and environmental improvements.

MQ is working on numerous projects to extend the service life of equipment and reduce the frequency of service. This should actually reduce the total cost of ownership and increase productivity for our customers.

We're all amateur economists to a degree. How do you see the economy developing over the next couple of years?

I feel 2004 and 2005 will each see improvement. However, I do not see anything like the late 1990's exuberant growth anywhere on the horizon — and truly, that's a good thing.

What kinds of changes in manufacturer-dealer/distributor relationships do you expect to see in the next few years?

While I anticipate that we will see some manufacturers consolidate, others will become more direct-sellers, and some will disappear, but the majority will actually strengthen ties with the dealer/ distributor and the rental operator. The level of service and support required and deserved by the contractor customers in our industry cannot be achieved without good, strong, and dedicated local CE business operators.

BACK ON TRACK

Denis Prevost
Vice president — national accounts division
Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
Vancouver, British Columbia

RER: It seems as though Ritchie Bros. enjoyed a very strong year in 2003. Gross auction sales were at record heights. What factors in the marketplace contributed to it being such a strong year in the auction sector?

Prevost: You are correct, our 2003 auction sales volumes were the highest ever, more than USD 1.56 billion. Such volumes were the result of many factors. One is that our method of sale, the unreserved auction method, is becoming more and more accepted in the marketplace as being a quick and easy way to get true world market prices for new and used equipment. Perhaps the best proof of this is that the number of consignors and buyers at our auctions were both up by around 12 percent over last year. Ritchie Bros. auctions have a huge selection of all types of equipment, and lots of people bidding against each other from different industries and geographic locations, translating to high prices transcending local and industry specific prices. Better prices translates to more equipment coming into our sales.

You now have 29 permanent auction sites around the world. Will you be adding many more in the foreseeable future?

We expect to complete our Sacramento, Calif., site this summer and we're looking for property in several other locations in and outside North America. Our plans for building more auction facilities complete with environmentally certified refurbishing facilities will continue as these facilities enable us to offer the level of service that our customers expect. It won't be very long until the end of auctions being conducted in a field somewhere and environmental regulations will force industrial auctions to be conducted in environmentally responsible sites. Owners of equipment can be liable for oil spills or such things and if the auctioneer doesn't have proper policies and practices in place, that owner can be liable for environmental problems caused by his equipment.

Obviously over the past couple of years, rental companies were not buying large quantities of new equipment. Has that been good for auctions, in other words, are those companies looking more toward obtaining inventory via auction?

Rental companies, large and small, have always been good customers of ours. Many of them have bought new equipment at our sales. When the market has been restrictive to these companies in the form of tight capital, they've also looked to us as being a good source of late model used equipment and made fleet investment at a lesser cost versus buying new. Also, when rental demand has been strong for machines that they haven't had in their existing fleet, they have found that they can fill that need through our auctions because of the large selection we offer.

It looks as though the economy is on the upswing. How will that affect the auction market, given that more rental companies are likely to be more willing to look for new equipment than in previous years?

All indications are that the economy is definitely strengthening. Most of the large rental companies have stated that their capex budgets for '04 will be much more than in the past few years. That's great news for the equipment manufacturers. What that means is that rental companies that have held on to their equipment for these past few years will be replacing the used with the new. Whether they trade that used equipment in to the manufacturer against their purchase or if they dispose of the used themselves, some of it will come through our auctions.

Although you are not in the rental business, you certainly have a lot of contact with rental companies and visit many rental companies. Some people feel there has been a ‘watering down” of service in recent years as cost-cutting became a major concern. Are you concerned that this tendency will have a long-term detrimental effect on the rental industry?

As far as the overall customer service aspect of the rental business is concerned… if companies don't think that it's still a service business, then they are mistaken. Response time and quality of that response to customers' needs go hand in hand with being a successful rental company. That means having good people who have the customers' best interests at heart, good business practices that address customer needs in a timely and professional manner and a fleet of equipment that is well managed, utilized and maintained. I don't think that there has been a change in these basic fundamentals because of cost cutting but there may have been a decrease in the quality of the service rendered. Now it's time for those companies to get back on track if they ever were off it.

Do you expect to see a lot of rental start-ups over the next couple of years, particularly from returning former owners who sold to consolidators and former managers of those companies striking out on their own?

Some ex-owners have rental in their blood. They may also still have loyal customers that they can rely on. Certainly many people will get back into the business but we can't ignore the fact that the large consolidators now have systems, people and equipment fleets in place, too. Competition in the rental industry is still very fierce and the rental rates are still low. Unless the newcomer or former rental company owner has a good financial backing and a good plan, then it's not the easiest business to get into right now. However, the business climate is good compared to the past few years so it'll be interesting to see really how many new start-ups there will be this year.

Do you expect to see any changes or trends in equipment distribution over the next few years?

I believe that distribution of new equipment through the rental channel will continue to increase. The cost of new equipment is going up and that fuels more rental. Distribution through the dealer channel will stay stable for those dealers that offer full customer service. However, distribution through the auction channel and directly from the manufacture will, I believe, also increase. There are many users who will subcontract the repair and maintenance of their equipment to service firms specializing in such. When those users want to make an investment in fleet, they may want to save money and buy just the asset rather than paying for all the extras that a dealer can offer but also has to charge for. A large quantity of new equipment sells through auctions and we look for that to increase as more manufacturers avail themselves of this quick and profitable method of distribution.

All of us in this industry are amateur economic pundits of sorts. Any thoughts on what kind of economy we are likely to see over the next few years?

I believe the economy will continue to get better in the short term. These days, though, there are so many factors that can drastically affect the business climate. Today the U.S. dollar is low, fueling more U.S. production and exports. But who knows how long the world economy will be able to sustain such a low dollar. China is coming on to the world stage in a big way and there's talk of a revaluation of its currency. It'll be interesting to see how that will affect things.

Hopefully there will be stability in the Middle East and in the war on terrorism because a major negative occurrence could again upset the economy. For now, everyone seems to be thinking positively and I foresee a strong economy affecting our industry in a positive way.

How does the economy look in Canada, particularly western Canada where Ritchie Bros. is based? And as a worldwide traveler, what kind of worldwide economic trends do you expect?

The overall economy in Canada is still lagging somewhat behind the U.S. but there are many sectors of positive activity. One of those is oil. That industry in Western Canada is booming with the tar sands in northern Alberta seeing significant development activity. There are more proven oil and gas reserves there than in all of Saudi Arabia. The development of the area and the building of the refineries and pipelines is really helping the economy as well as the rental business in Western Canada.

The global economy, in general, seems to be on the rise. The Middle East is experiencing robust growth. We had four very successful auctions in Dubai this past year where the economy is strong. We had our first auction in South Africa this year and we see that market as having a good growth potential. We are expanding our presence in Europe and we're having record setting auctions at our site in The Netherlands as well as conducting regular auctions in the U.K., Greece and Spain. We have made commitments to expand our business in places such as China, Eastern Europe and India. Our operation in Brisbane, Australia is forecasting significant growth because of positive signs in the economies of that country and Southeast Asia in general.

We are living in very interesting times. The world is becoming much smaller and we are all having to work much smarter. Our CEO, Dave Ritchie, says: “The harder you work, the luckier you get.”