GIVEN the unsteadiness of the economy, influenced by factors that fall outside the control of the industry, Goscor Lift Truck Company’s (GLTC’s) short-term rental solution offers flexible and cost-effective solutions for cash-strapped material handling equipment users.
That’s according to Tanya Brummer, the company’s National Rental Manager, who said short-term rental can be anything from a day to three years.
“Amid the current uncertainty due to tough economic conditions, this is a flexible solution for our customers as they don’t have to be bound to five-year rental contracts, for example. They can terminate the rental agreement anytime when finances are tight, or business production reduces.”
She said if a company rents equipment from them on a short-term basis and the market deteriorates, they are in a position to return the equipment to the supplier. On the other end of the scale, if they win projects or take on new work, they can still hire more equipment to meet their immediate needs, without taking on greater risk.
“Our short-term rental solution offers that much needed flexibility, allowing customers to easily adapt to business fluctuations.”
Brummer said as the peak season approaches, many of GLTC’s customers find the short-term rental solution a fitting solution for their needs, as they can easily and cost-effectively satisfy their additional machinery needs.
“For example, we expect to start supplying farmers in the Cape Town area with additional equipment as they are approaching their peak season,” she said, adding that the company also supplies warehouses and distribution centres, and ahead of the festive season, these facilities tend to be busy.
The rental division is represented in all the major economic hubs of the country, with branches in Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, East London, Cape Town and two multi-franchise branches in Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit.
“We also have our own roll-back trucks that deliver the forklifts to our customers to reduce turnaround times and increase flexibility, for example, when a customer requires early delivery or late collection.”
The current short-term rental fleet comprises 1,200 pieces of machinery, most of them in Johannesburg. They range from small electric pallet jacks to 16t diesel forklifts.
The full range includes the small WT (electric pallet jack); 1,8t – 3,5t electric forklifts, specialised Bendi articulated forklift trucks as well as diesel forklifts from 1,8t to 16t. “We also offer reach trucks from 1,4t to 2t with lifting heights from 6,5m to 12,5m. Gas-powered machines are also available from 1,8t to 3,5t sizes.
“Our wide range of equipment for short-term rental can meet all our customers’ equipment requirements for their sites, giving them the convenience of dealing with a single supplier. To give an idea, we have one of the largest 11,5t reach truck fleets in the country. We can also assist mining and container industry customers with our bigger 8t, 11t and 16t offerings.”
Commenting on some of the new trends in this industry, Brummer said there is definitely a shift towards more eco-friendly materials handling equipment including electrically driven forklifts. GLTC offers a wide range of electric units on short-term rental.
