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following this maturing market.
We’ll be monitoring to see what
occurs as their used equipment
matures and becomes obsolete.
“For manufacturers, our
challenge is to have the Chinese
market the concept of safety.
They’re moving towards
developing their own safety
standards and we’re working with
their relevant bodies to develop
those standards.
“As part of this business growth,
Terex has built a factory near
Shanghai which is Genie staffed. We
build our Super 125 booms there
and supply the whole world with Genie
S-125 booms from this centre.
Mining driving projects
“Economically speaking, the Australian
economy is a two-speed economy and our
industry is no different. Mining is booming
at the moment, and large mining projects
are driving our industry.
“The non-residential construction market
has suffered, and now, I believe that market
needs a confidence boost - a boost from
banks, from customers, from government,
and even from rental companies.
“I believe the non-residential construction
market still has another one to two years
to travel before it bounces back to where
it was in 2006-07. But when it does bounce
back, we anticipate we’ll be very busy.
A greener future
“Green awareness is growing. And I
believe the growth will be customer driven;
not by our rental customers, but by their
customers, the end users. Those users want
a quieter machine and a machine with
fewer emissions.
“We’re prepared for a greener future. By
the time Australia works out what carbon
trading is, Tier 4 machines will be upon us.
Tier 4 standards are a
European Standard and
those machines have a
quarter of our current
machine emissions.
“In the US and Europe,
manufacturers are
gearing up for greener,
leaner machines and
I know we’ll soon be
seeing the benefits of
this technology in the
Australian market.
“Our costs will rise
when the Carbon Tax
starts. It’s definitely
going to affect the whole industry, but
for now, it is still a bit of a wait-and-see
attitude out there. But I guess the tax will
motivate the industry to come up with
cleaner solutions.
Tackling telescopic handlers
“Telehandlers first started to become
popular in the rental channel around 2003.
They are versatile and had a great run from
2003 until 2007. During this time there was
exciting growth but during the GFC, the
demand for telehandlers has quietened off.
“Recently I’ve noticed the market is
starting to come back. And it’s coming back
strongly.
“For the rental market, I think it’s
important to remember telehandlers
are not like a piece of access equipment.
They have higher maintenance costs and
really need to be treated like a piece
of excavation equipment in terms of
maintenance costs due to the type of work
demanded of the machines.
“For example, telehandlers have a harder
working life than MEWP (mobile elevated
work platform) machines. Telehandlers are
driven around a job site continuously and
definitely have more wear and tear than
MEWPs. It’s important those considerations
are factored in when setting rental returns.
“The telehandler market is an exciting
market. I think we’ll see that market grow
considerably in the next few years.
Training for excellence
“Genie is committed to training and
safety. As a credit to customers, more than
450 people passed through the Genie
training courses in 2011.
“Participating in a Genie training
course is by invitation. There is no cost to
the participant or employer. Courses are
regularly conducted across Australia and in
New Zealand. We run one day, two day and
three day courses and courses are a blend
of theory with some hands on exposure in
the workshop.
“The initial focus on service training is
to concentrate on new staff and provide
them with a basic appreciation of the Genie
product across all segments. Training is
also undertaken on-site at the premises of
clients and this tends to focus on how to
inspect equipment when it comes off hire.
“Ours is a pretty unique industry because
service people need to have knowledge and
skill in electrics, hydraulics and mechanical
areas. This person with all-round training is
a rare breed.
“We stand behind every machine we sell
for as long as our customers own it. We’ve
focused heavily in providing the very best
service we can in our spare parts business.
And the spare parts business is booming.
“To respond to the demand, we’ve
increased our resources across Australia
to cut-down the lead time. Newly trained
parts interpreters are in all of our centres
assisting customers and we’re proud to have
increased our fill-rate to 96%.
“We’re also recently launched a spare
parts, online portal. The Genie Parts Portal
is a live, online parts enquiry system.“
HR
46 | ACCESS
in
ACTION | MAY 2012
ACCESS in ACTION
‘Focused on a brighter future’...
continued from p45
Brad Lwrence, Genie General
Manager