Briggs Equipment has landed a deal to provide fleet management services for US forklift operations of oil and gas industry giant Baker Hughes Inc.

Under its BE Fleet program, Briggs directs all activity related to Baker Hughes' forklift fleet acquisition, maintenance, billing and information management. Terms of the 25 March agreement were not disclosed.

Briggs Equipment worked collaboratively with Baker Hughes over 18 months in crafting an effective solution.

"Our comprehensive approach to fleet management is unmatched in the industry and provides a level of service that can significantly improve efficiency and safety," says Mike Winemiller, president of Briggs Equipment. "We look forward to delivering successful results that empower employees and impact the bottom line."

Baker Hughes will purchase equipment exclusively through Briggs Equipment, identified as the largest Yale Materials Handling Corp forklift dealer. Yale is an operation of Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Nacco Industries Inc's materials handling group.

Briggs Equipment will partner with Baker Hughes on all forklift disposal and related US-vendor management.

"We needed a single-source forklift fleet provider as our operations continue to grow in the United States," says Michael Fernandez, Baker Hughes project manager. "We chose Briggs Equipment based on its consistent service level and its comprehensive web-based fleet data management system, which we expect to allow us to more effectively manage our fleet real-time."

BE Fleet proactively helps prevent accidents and takes corrective measures identified by the wireless BE Fleet Speedshield system. The on-board reporting module transmits vehicle usage information over a cellular network to an integrated web-based reporting engine.

The system captures real-time vehicle speed, load weights, overuse and other parameters that are tied to both a specific vehicle and its operator.

In addition to Fernandez, project manager Brenda Davis represented Baker Hughes in the bid process. Supporting Winemiller for Briggs Equipment were BE Fleet project manager Grant Johanson and senior sales consultant Royal Millen.

Briggs Equipment, a wholly owned subsidiary of the highly diversified, Dallas-based holding company Sammons Enterprises, operates through Dallas-based Briggs Equipment, Mexico City-based Briggs Equipment de México and Cannock, England-based Briggs Equipment UK Ltd.

Within North America as a distributor and supplier of forklifts, industrial equipment and construction equipment, Briggs has multiple locations throughout the south western US and Mexico.

Sammons acquired Briggs-Weaver in 1952 and established Briggs Equipment as a separate Sammons company in 1996.

Publicly traded Baker Hughes reports profit of USD384 million on sales of USD4.53 billion for the first quarter ended 31 March. Baker Hughes provides pressure pumping, reservoir consulting, drilling, formation evaluation, completion and production products and services to the worldwide oil and gas industry.

Baker Hughes was formed in 1987 with the merger of Baker International and Hughes Tool Co. Both were founded more than 100 years ago when RC Baker and Howard Hughes Sr conceived ground-breaking inventions that revolutionised the early petroleum industry.