Articles by Maria Hadlow

From 1 January 2013, IPAF rental company members in the UK must report any known mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) accidents involving their staff at the IPAF accident database (www.ipaf.org/accident).

Riwal's CEO Norty Turner got this year's Europlatform conference off to a lively start with his keynote speech entitled Managing Rental Performace. He emphasised the need for strategy and communication and shared Riwal's six core components to developing its strategy.

As part of its strategy to offer a wide range of deep-cycle battery options for the renewable energy market, Trojan Battery Co. has added a new 140AH 12-AGM battery to its product family. The new 12-AGM is suitable for applications that require maintenance-free battery power such as in remote areas where proper maintenance cannot be guaranteed.

Sales for Haulotte in the first half of 2012 - to 30 June 2012 - increased 25% compared to the same period in 2011.

Ashtead Group ups its full year guidance and reports record pre-tax profits for the three months to the end of July 2012.

Manitou has reported a 20% increase in turnover for the first half of 2012 compared to the first half of 2011 and an upturn in profit of 22%. However, president and chief executive officer Jean-Christophe Giroux said progress was slower than expected because of a number of internal and external factors.

A new distributor and exporter of powered access equipment and forklift trucks has been established in Belgium.

There is a 2 September deadline to get the discounted rate for the Europlatform conference on 20 September in Edinburgh, UK.

Brazil's Mills Estruturas e Servicos de Engenharia has reported a record turnover for the second quarter of 2012 complemented by a record earnings growth of 73.5%, while planned investment more than doubles.

IPS is adding an on-site hydraulic hose replacement service for its customers. The UK based international supplier of replacement parts and after-sales service can bring a fully-equipped hose workshop directly to your site.

Cooperative rental association System Lift has announced that 2011 was its most financially successful year ever since with more than a €100 million turnover.

With a tight contract timeframe, UK rental company AFI-Uplift was able to supply booms so a luxury cruise liner could dock in the morning, be re-liveried with its new name and be ready to set sail on the evening tide.

There were zero fatalities during the building of the London Olympic venues and the UK's IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) has identified the communication techniques that helped to make this possible and which can be used in other construction projects.

IPAF's (International Powered Access Federation) accident database has recorded 17 fatal accidents involving aerial platforms worldwide for the first half of 2012.

Oshkosh has announced that sales in its Access Platform segment in its third quarter - ending 30 June 2012 - have increased 40.4% (to $814.6 million) compared to the same period in 2011. Oshkosh, the parent company of JLG, is attributing growth to higher unit sales and previously announced price increases.

The combined growth of the Access 50 - largest powered access rental fleets in the world - is between 5.5% and 6% but this figure fails to reflect the massive growth in some areas and the continued reduction in others.

Netherlands based rental company HWS Vehuur has invested in 45 JLG aerial work platforms purchased from Riwal. The purchase consists of a range of machines: scissors and booms including 28m working height telescopic booms.

Suzanne Wood has taken over as Group Finance Director at the Ashtead Group, replacing Ian Robson who has retired.

Access rental company, Lavendon's first half year results have come in ahead of the board's expectations with second quarter rental revenue growth up 4% compared to the same period last year and growth in the first half of the year (ending June 30) up 6%. Big increases have been seen in the French and Middle East markets 19% and 30% respectively for the first half year.

New research published by Creditsafe has revealed that a significant number of UK hire companies renting to the construction sector have been asked to renegotiate contracts; lost money through insolvency and have noticed an increase in defaulted payments. Creditsafe recommends that more thorough credit check s could reduce companies' vulnerability.