All Access Articles

Spanish manufacturer AUSA said sales in the first half of the year increased by 35.2% compared to the same period in 2010 with exports increasing by 58%. Exports represented 72.8% of its business in the period.

RSC Equipment Rental said its industrial and non-construction markets continued to improve in the second quarter of 2011, while non-residential construction fell slightly.

Terex AWP’s second quarter sales more than doubled to US$484.1 million, with North America and Brazil showing strong growth and western Europe strengthening. The division made operating profits of $28.2 million compared to a $2.3 million loss in the same quarter in 2010.

United Rentals more than doubled its second quarter net profits to US$27 million on revenues up 13% to $629 million, with a record time utilisation of 69% for a second quarter. The company said the figures defied a flat construction sector.

Manitou reported continuing growth in sales in all its markets in the second quarter although the rate of increase in order intake has decreased because of renewed uncertainties about the world economy.

Lavendon Group is to close its Spanish rental operation in the second half of this year because of the poor long-term outlook for the market.

UK access rental company AFI-Uplift is investing more than £5 million in new platforms, adding 500 new machines and expanding the fleet by over 400 units. AFI’s total fleet size is now more than 3300 units.

Former Oil & Steel executive Paolo Balugani and three other investors have formed Sky Aces srl, a manufacturer that will focus on producing special platforms for niche applications such as tunnels.

Skyjack is joining the electronic parts management system SmartEquip Network. The system will provides direct online links to Skyjack’s parts and procurement systems for rental companies and other fleet owners.

US operated access rental and sales company Shanghai Universal Equipment Co is playing a key role in developing access rental in China.

The European association for materials handling equipment, FEM (Fédération Européenne de la Manutention), has issued a position paper that states that cranes should not be used for lifting people, except under exceptional circumstances.

The ‘early bird’ rate for the Europlatform access rental conference is available until Friday 15 July. The theme this year is Financing Growth and the line-up is once again very strong with speakers including Alexandre Saubot, Kevin Appleton and Loxam’s mergers and acquisitions specialist, Maëg Videau.

Atlas Copco, JLG, Sandvik, Terex and Wacker Neuson to return to the Paris exhibition in April, after an absence from the recession-hit 2009 show.

Ramirent is to acquire Hyrman i Lund AB in Sweden, a seven depot rental company with annual revenues of around €15 million and operating mainly in the Halland and Scania regions in the south of the country.

Private equity firms 3i and Pragma Capital have invested €60 million in Loxam to acquire a minority stake in the French-based rental company.

Private equity firms 3i and Pragma Capital have invested €60 million in Loxam to acquire a minority stake in the French-based rental company.

UK equipment rental company Speedy Hire has invested £4.5 million in access equipment for its fleet.

Indiana-based NEsco Sales and Rentals has acquired the remainder of Terex Utilities' equipment rental fleet in Virginia, Tennessee and Texas.

In compliance with ANSI standards, operators of aerial work platforms (AWPs) must perform pre-start inspections of machines before use each day or at the beginning of each shift. American Work Platform Training (AWPT), the North American subsidiary of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), has released a safety video that demonstrates how daily pre-start inspections should be performed.

Lavendon Access Services, the UK arm of Lavendon Group, is inviting equipment suppliers to demonstrate their latest machines as it gears up to start renewing its fleet from 2012 onwards.