24
EUROPEANRENTALAWARDS
IRNAPRIL-MAY 2015
lamps offer 50,000 hours of life. The machine itself
has a ten year life and is completely recyclable. Its
environmental impact was also a factor throughout
theproductionprocess, which is completely clean.”
WackerNeuson
Country
Germany
Product Battery
powered
rammers
Why should it win?
“With its AS 30 and AS 50
battery powered rammers,
Wacker Neuson is the first
manufacturer to offer an
intelligent alternative to
conventional gas or diesel
models. A battery and an
electric engine drive the
rammers, so no exhaust
emissions occur during
use – this protects the
operator’s health and the environment. The rammers
can fullydisplay theirstrengths in trenchapplications
or in indooruse. Easyhandlingand lowoperatingand
energy costsareextraadvantages.”
Large Rental Company of the
Year (turnovermore than€15
million)
A-Plant
Country
UnitedKingdom
Why should it win?
“The year of 2014 has, without
question, been one of A-Plant’s most successful
years in the company’s 60-plus year history in terms
of growth, unprecedented financial results, fleet
investment, customer satisfaction and commitment
to training for both A-Plant colleagues and our
customer base. A-Plant’s newly acquired businesses
haveseamlessly integrated into thenetworkandhave
allowed us to grow and develop additional markets.
Our commitment to attracting quality people is such
that we have well over 100 apprentices at various
stages of the National Vocational Qualification
process.“
GAPGroup
Country
UnitedKingdom
Why should it win?
“In 2014, our most successful
year to date, we launched four new divisions, a
rebrand and rolled out Vision, Mission and Values
training. We also launched the GAP Code – the values
defining our approach to business. We employed our
first learning and development manager and joined
the 5% Club, pledging that at least 5% of staff are
apprentices or graduates – we already exceed this at
8%. In health and safety, we gained BS OHSAS 18001
and Safecontractor accreditation. 2013-14 turnover
was£118million (€164million)andweexpect revenues
to increaseby22% this year.“
HSSHireGroup
Country
UnitedKingdom
Why should it win?
“Last year was a great one for
HSS. Under CEO Chris Davies (pictured) the company
drove its strategy forward, brought innovation and
outstandingservice tocustomers, andmadestrategic
acquisitions.
"It also listed on the London Stock Exchange. A
successful flotation in early 2015 raised £103 million
(€143million) for the business, and raised the profile
of the rental industry as a whole. HSS’s adjusted
EBITDA for the nine months to 27 September 2014
were £51.8million (€72million), up 26% on the same
period the previous year. This increasewas primarily
due to revenuesgrowing27.5%.”
Small Rental Company of the
Year (turnover less than€15
million)
Atut Rental
Country
Poland
Why should it win?
“Atut Rental is a private limited
company that has been renting for 25years, solely in
Poland. It has 205 employees, 15 branches andmore
than 8000 pieces of non operated plant. The first
eight months of 2014 were economically challenging
for the Polish rental industry before an improvement
later in the year. However, against this background
Atut Rental achieved turnover up 28% on 2013,
net profit up 42%, and investment in fixed assets
in 2014 was 52% of the previous year’s turnover.
The company also opened two new branches and
implemented 100% service documentation for all
equipment.”
GermansHoms
Country
Spain
Why should it win?
“Germans Homs is a rental
business started in one of the worst years (2010) in
oneof theworst countries (Spain), andobviously ina
very tough sector (construction). But we succeeded.
We are proud to say that we are the perfect
combination between a classic rental company and
a dotcom company. From the first day we wanted
to build a different company. It’s easy to start a
company in a goodmarket, but do it inourmarket is
the real challenge.”
Industrial Access
Country
Romania
Why should it win?
“We are always forward
thinking, never settling down, looking for constant
and continuous challenge, learning from past
mistakes and customers’ valuable feedback with
an optimisation driven attitude. Launched in 2005,
Industrial Access provides end-to-end construction
equipment rental answers and results in south-
eastern European countries. The goal is customer
