ERA holds 'face to face' meetings between rental companies and OEMs

The European Rental Association (ERA) has organised a number of ‘face to face’ meetings between major European rental companies and equipment manufacturers during Intermat.

The meetings, involving ten leading OEMs and rental companies including Cramo, Ramirent, Boels, Kiloutou and Zeppelin Rental, are designed to create a dialogue between the rental sector and manufacturers on the particular needs of rental companies.

The format of the meetings was two groups of rental managers each meeting five different OEMs in separate sessions, allowing each OEM to speak confidentially to the rental companies.

The meetings were the idea of ERA’s Equipment Technology committee and followed pilot meetings with five OEMs held in Antwerp in October last year.

Michel Petitjean, ERA’s secretary general, told IRN that meetings had been very successful, and that it wasn’t about giving selected manufacturers privileged access to rental companies, but rather to start to influence the wider manufacturing community to consider the needs of rental companies.

“The meetings really made a lot of progress”, said Mr Petitjean, “We have definitely accomplished something. The workshops will provide mutual benefits.” Topics discussed included product design, safety devices, limiting the risk of damage to products and standardisation issues.

The OEMs involved in the meetings were mainly general equipment suppliers, but around a third were aerial platform manufacturers. Most were ERA members, but not all.

Further meetings are planned before the end of the year.