Brigg's fleet expansion

Briggs Equipment has increased their short-term forklift rental fleet by 550 new machines at a cost of GBP8 million (USD14.9 million)

The new fleet includes 120 pieces of Cat warehouse equipment, eight 10-16 tonne SMV machines, six 5 tonne Baumann sideloaders, Flexi articulated forklifts, two trucks and rough-terrain machines.

Briggs is the sole UK national distributor of the Cat Forklifts range and also has strong partnerships with Baumann and SMV.

Allan Parsons, Briggs' short-term rental manager, says the primary reason to increase the fleet is a move towards being a 'one-stop shop'.

"It is an opportunity to support an under-developed area of the market with rough terrain and sideloaders," he explains.

He attributes the growth in customer demand for the specialised forklift hire to reluctance to purchase equipment and traditionally poor quality of short-term hire equipment available in the market.

Parsons explains that across the industry, sideloaders and rough-terrain units are often old and overworked machines.

"We are able to offer the latest machines with the greatest efficiency and reliability," he says.

"Even some of our larger customers in the construction industry prefer to take a shorter-term rental contract out for the larger machines. The shorter-term contracts are a good way of minimising risk if a customer is unsure of the long term business forecast."

Briggs believes its increased fleet can assist business efficiency and flexibility.

"Reducing the overall fleet age has great benefits in terms of lowering running costs, lower carbon footprint, greater reliability, enhanced choice and eliminates the need for cross hire," Parsons explains.

With the increased fleet, Briggs believes it will have no problem meeting increased demand for equipment.

"In the distant past, there were occasional issues around peak seasons, but as our experience in the industry has grown, we have been able to match our customers' expectations," Parsons says.

The majority of the units will be based at the UK head office at Cannock, West Midlands with some units based at Livingstone near Glasgow and Liverpool Docks.

Parson says the fleets are able to move around with ease because of Briggs' dedicated transport fleet "so every customer gets the unit they need, not a 'make do'".

Briggs' equipment generally has a 10-year lifespan even though short-term rental equipment is often subjected to abuse and misuse.

"That's not a question of milking a machine for its last drop of life, but rather using pro-active maintenance: matching the right product to the right application and only sourcing the best equipment," Parsons says.