May 28, 2008 - Cannock based Briggs Equipment has invested £8 million in nearly 550 new machines for its short term hire fleet based at its site on the Orbital business park. Alongside a range of counterbalance machines, the new fleet includes 120 pieces of Cat® warehouse equipment, as well as eight 10-16 tonne SMV heavy lift trucks and six 5 tonne Baumann sideloaders.
Briggs, which is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of lift trucks on short term rental, explains the growth in customer demands for specialised heavy lifting trucks as being down to risk-averse buying behaviour coupled with traditionally poor quality of short term hire equipment available in this market.
Allan Parsons, short term rental manager at Briggs Equipment, explains, “We are satisfying customer demands for specialised equipment, in what can be arduous applications, by offering a fleet of new machines that are LOLER certified and meet all safety requirements. It is apparent that the quality of short term hire machines available in the heavy lifting and long load handling sectors can be poor. The kit is usually old and not as reliable but most importantly can be unavailable. At Briggs our short term hire fleet is completely flexible with delivery within 24 hours from our storage facility at Cannock as well as strategically located depots around the country. In addition these machines are regularly inspected and maintained by our in-house engineering team, so are 100% reliable.”
The continued growth in industries such as ports and certain sectors of manufacturing, coupled with the uncertainty in the economy, means that demand for this equipment is strong. Allan Parsons adds, “Even some of our larger customers in the construction industry, for example, prefer to take a shorter term rental contract out for the larger machines. They represent a significant investment and when there is uncertainty in the economy customers become more risk averse. The shorter term contracts are a good way of minimising risk if a customer is unsure of the long term business forecast.”
A fifth of Briggs’ 2,400-strong short term rental fleet is now made up of warehouse equipment. Allan Parsons puts this down to seasonal demands coupled with the unpredictable nature of retail demand, “Our largest retail customers deliberately keep 30% of their fleet on short term rental. This increases their flexibility as a business to respond to increases and decreases in demand at short notice.
“For certain customers we meet their specialist needs by keeping a dedicated fleet of Cat machines for them. This might include machine modifications such as carton clamps and high masts. We know they will be calling on this fleet during their peak times, for example, during Easter to October, and we make sure it is available for them by immediate despatch.”
Briggs Equipment UK is the sole national distributor of Cat® Lift Trucks and warehouse equipment in the UK, providing a comprehensive range of equipment for all applications. With headquarters in Cannock, Staffordshire, Briggs Equipment employs over 940 specialist staff and service engineers throughout the UK and is fully capable of meeting all of its customers’ materials handling needs.
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Briggs Equipment UK
Briggs Equipment UK Ltd is a leading materials handling service provider and sole distributor of Yale Materials Handling products in Great Britain. Providing a wide range of equipment for a broad customer base, Briggs provides innovative, tailored and cost effective solutions on a nationwide basis. With its headquarters and national support centre in Cannock, Briggs people assist and advise in the delivery of long term solutions that enable customers to develop more efficient and results driven businesses.
Media contact:
Tiffany Clowes
Changeworks Communications
T. + 44 (0) 1785 247588
E.
Company Contact:
Scott Bullock
Briggs Equipment
Orbital Way
Cannock
WS11 8XW
T: 01543 430 455
W: www.briggsequipment.co.uk
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