16 / 68
HIRE INDUSTRY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
16
HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • AUGUST 2016
Rental Company of the Year Finalists
Q: Is this the first time you have
entered the HIEA?
A: Yes, this was our first time entering,
and our first year as an HRIA member.
Q: Why did you enter?
A: As a relatively young company,
we entered as a bit of a litmus test
of our business; to see how we fared
against our competitors as judged by
industry professionals, and of course,
for the marketing potential. Awards
and accreditations are invaluable tools
for generating trust with potential
customers, so we thought 'why not?'.
Q: How long did it take you to enter?
A: Not long at all. We put together a brief
overview of the company and sent it
through. It wasn’t long before we heard
we had made the cut. The process was
really easy.
Q: What preparation did you make?
A:We continued operations as normal.
As our first time entering the HIEA, we
were unsure what to expect. We consider
Empire to be a fairly innovative hire
company and we are always working
on improving our products, services
and systems to become the best in the
business.
Q: How did you find the experience?
A: The experience was excellent. We
found the visit from the HIEA judges and
their feedback incredibly worthwhile
and insightful and have taken steps to
enact updated company values, policies
and systems to help us to continue to
improve. The HIRE16 exhibition and
experience was also terrific and gave us a
great chance to network and get to know
others in the industry. We’d definitely
recommend it. It gave us a confidence in
ourselves and our vision and helped us
reaffirm our goals for the future.
Q: What were you hoping for?
A: As our first time entering and our first
year with HRIA, we didn’t have many
expectations and entered mainly to see
where we were in the hire landscape.
We didn’t expect to be named a finalist
at all, but were thrilled to hear we were.
The experience now has us hoping to
continue improving and to take out the
Rental Company of the Year sometime in
the future.
Q: What would you tell other
potential entrants?
We would highly recommend entering,
even if you are new to the HRIA. It’s a
great way to promote your business, and
the feedback and insight is incredibly
helpful. You have nothing to lose.
Q: Will you enter again?
A: Definitely. We’ll be stepping up into the
Empire Commercial Enterprises
Chris Harris – Chief Executive Officer – www.ecenterprises.net.au
main division next year, so competition
will be stiff. But we’re dedicated
to becoming the best construction
equipment hire service in Australia, and
nothings off the table.
Q: Any other comments?
A:When applying, focus on what makes
your business unique. That’s the best and
only way to stand out from the crowd,
both for award consideration and from
your customer’s perspective.
Q: Is this the first time you have
entered the HIEA?
A: This was the first time we entered the
national awards, we previously entered
the Victorian State Awards once and won
them as well.
Q: Why did you enter?
A: I felt we embodied what the industry
excellence awards are about; we do a
fantastic job in supporting our customers
and giving them the best compressed
air equipment every time and I felt we
deserved recognition on a national scale.
Q: How long did it take you to enter?
The whole process was very easy and
required about a week of work.
Air Powered Services
Matthew Bleeze – General Manager – www.airpoweredservices.com.au
Q: What preparation did you make?
A: It gave us a good chance to do an
internal review to make sure we were
still following our own procedures and
guidelines as well as give our place a tidy
up.
Q: How did you find the experience?
A: Very rewarding, would recommend
other hire companies who feel they are
about the mark, should enter.
Q: What would you tell other
potential entrants?
A: Make sure your house is in order, the
inspection process is very thorough and
enjoy the process.