Interview: Salti CEO on ‘secrets to success’

The company operates 47 branches in France. (All images courtesy of Salti)

The equipment rental market in France is highly competitive, with the likes of Loxam and Kiloutou claiming a significant share.

Driving home that point, in 2023 Kiloutou reported  €1.2 billion in revenues, with €760 million of that in France.

With that backdrop, standing out is crucial for other key players looking to consolidate a place in the market and drive growth.

One such company is Salti, a fourth-generation family-owned firm headquartered in Marcq-en-Barœul, near Lille, in northern France.

In the view of Jean-Sebastian Guiot, CEO of Salti, while Loxam and Kiloutou may occupy the top two places, there remains ample room for companies to consolidate a place in the top four, and the race is on to claim it.

And, while others may factor in acquisitions or private investment as part of any plans to enter that race (see Accès Industrie’s recent acquisition of Huet Location), Salti is taking a rather different approach, one that focuses on new depot openings, extending the life of equipment and placing itself as a supplier of green solutions to customers.

Guiot, who joined the family business in 1998, tells IRN on a video call, “We want to go further in two ways. First, we want to extend the life of our equipment with our great technicians. We want to invest massively in green products.

“This year [2024] on over €50 million investment two-thirds was on green products. We believe that there is a place for a third agile player that can do the right stuff.”

As for its plans to grow its network of depots across France, where it operates 47 at the time of writing, the plan is to open at least three depots a year.

Last year it added one in the Bourges region, months after it expanded in the Valence area on the Lyon – Marseille road axis, supporting its presence in the south-east.

The approach to depot openings is far from scattergun; “Our strategy is to open close to another depot and when we deliver products to another city when we are not already there, we know that it’s time for us to have a new depot, but we try to avoid investing in the middle of nowhere.

“We like to have a small cluster of depots close to the original one. There are no rules except that and trying to anticipate client demand.”

Jean-Sebastian Guiot, CEO and president of Salti.

Salti’s secrets to success

Aside from depot expansion, as part of its plans to consolidate itself inside the top four in France Guiot says the company has three “secrets to success” that enable it to stand out.

Firstly, Salti remains family-owned and run by Guiot and his brother Jean-Christophe. In fact, the company used to bare the family name when it was created by his great-grandfather some 70 years ago.

Upon his passing, Guiot’s grandmother led the company, alongside his aunt, uncle and his father. Guiot become CEO in 2009 and president in 2011.

“A family company doesn’t think in months, it’s a long-term vision,” he says. “We believe the family business character is an asset for a company like us. We try to invest regularly, even in difficult years, and that offers a good guarantee to our partners that we take our long-term decisions with a generational view and not by month.”

The second secret, he says, is how the company treats its employees, with significant investment in improving the wellbeing of its some 500 staff.

The company, which recently announced revenues of €141 million for 2024, believes that if its employees are happy, its customers are too, and that in turn means that growth will be maintained.

“There is no long-term success without overall performance of the ecosystem, and we invest a lot in our employees, but we also want to have great relations with our customers and providers. We want to take care of all the ecosystem that help us,” he says.

An example of its commitment to staff could be seen last September, when the company hosted its 10th annual Wellness Week across 47 of its depots (see box story).

The week saw the company offer 292 sessions of massages, team-building activities, and collaborative workshops, all aimed at enhancing employee well-being.

It’s initiatives like this that he believes differentiates itself in the marketplace. “A happy employee makes a delighted customer,” he says. “We want our employees to be happy to work with us,” he says.

“By acting well with our employees, by acting well with the planet and our customers and by applying those three secrets, we believe there is a place for a third or fourth player on the market with high value of operating and we want to do great things.

“I think it’s possible in every market you see, and we want to be this player on the French market.”

Salti’s fleet includes more than 200 units of alternative powered equipment.

Green demands in equipment rental

Meanwhile, the company’s focus on being at the forefront of the energy transition - its third secret - is not only a part of its strategy but also contributes to a more sustainable world, to “fight against excessive consumption of natural resources”, he says.

Salti has invested significantly in alternative powered fleet. Generally, around half of CapEx is on “green equipment”, although investment in 2024 was higher at around two thirds, as there is “so much demand and we need to accelerate the transition.”

By 2027 it aims to commit 50% of its CapEx on “more virtuous equipment.” That would see it extend its fleet of greener options, which currently offers more than 200 units across aerial platforms, forklifts, site dumpers, wheeled loaders, excavators and more.

“Our fleet is already 55% green equipment, so Stage V, hybrid or electric”, says Guiot, “Two third of our purchases [this year] went towards green products and I think there’s an urgency to limit the [climate] impact and we want to participate and to help our customers in the energy transition.”

Its focus on driving the energy transition extends not only at a company level, but also through its involvement with external initiatives such as the Community of Sustainable Equipment Players (Communauté des Acteurs du Matériel Durable – CAMD).

Launched last year during Intermat, CAMD is made up of rental companies (Kiloutou and Salti), OEMs (Haulotte, JCB, Manitou, Volvo CE) and contractors (Bouygues, Colas, Eiffage, NGA and aims to work with the construction industry’s trade federations to accelerate the energy transition in construction equipment.

“I think the topic is so big, so broad, that I’m convinced that you cannot advance by your own,” says Guiot. “So to have the chance to bring together rental companies, users and manufacturers is a good opportunity to accelerate the decarbonisation of the industry.”

However, he says cost is still a consideration among end users, which is another reason the CAMD initiative is driving value for customers in the energy transition.

“A company that doesn’t care about those aspects won’t be here in a few years and there is a huge demand on the market, but we need to work altogether to be sure to have power on site.

“There are so many questions around the transition that it’s good to be able to talk at the same time with manufacturers and users, customers and rental companies. That’s the idea.”

The tech challenge facing rental companies

The energy transition makes up one of two important topics shaping the industry in France, Guiot says, “I think the two main challenges for our industry is of course, digitalisation and the transition. It seems to be very obvious, but it’s so important for companies such as us.

“It’s very, very important to me and we are doing a lot on that, mostly for our teams,” he says.

“The idea is to have [digital] tools that are very easy and a pleasure to use, and we have been able to reduce the development time and the way that we are training new employees. The system is easier to use, and we are trying to reduce down to using zero paper. It’s not already done, but almost.”

Salti is a fourth-generation family-owned company.

Salti employs a dual approach to technology. Internal systems are developed and managed in-house, focusing on core business needs. For non-core functions, like expense management, Salti partners with specialist providers such as Expensya.

On the customer-facing side, Salti is enhancing its extranet platform to simplify ordering processes and provide tools like carbon footprint reports.

Guiot highlights the importance of aligning digitalisation with customer and team needs, ensuring practical value to both.

Regarding AI, he remains cautious but optimistic, telling IRN that it “isn’t important if you are not good in digitalisation.”

The French rental market

Having ambitions to grow its presence in France organically is not easy, of course, especially with the housing market - a key driver for rental activity - dropping in 2024 and expected to do the same in this year.

According to DLR, the French rental and distributors association, many of its members “remain concerned about the sector’s future” despite growth in a number of segments.

For companies like Salti, which offers a fleet of what Guiot describes as middle and heavy equipment predominantly to professional B2B customers, this means there is no fast-track approach to growth, at least for the short term.

“We’d like to go quicker, but we want to stay independent, so we need to go organically and very securely. We are still in ‘crisis’ in Europe and France, and we have to have a safe development to stay independent and to not to grow too fast,” he says.

He adds that the Olympics in Paris last summer did offer some respite in the midst of the construction downturn, but that also brought about a slowdown on regular activity in the capital.

“It was quite good last year and the year before to have the new construction, but with the Paris Olympic games there were few new infrastructures, they were using the same infrastructure.

“We had more work with what they called Grand Paris, which was a rearranging of the city.”

One growing market for the company is building renovation, which has partly plugged the gap left by the declining housing market.

The solar industry is also proving fruitful for Salti, with high demand in that sector for forklifts.

Family ties

Having cited its family-owned, independent status as one of its keys for success, it’s not a surprise that Guiot says the vision for the business does not include a sale or private equity involvement.

Instead, the Salti way is focused on organic growth, with more depots and a different way of renting.

With its three key ingredients - independence, staff wellbeing and the energy transition - the company has already outlined its plans to solidify itself as a top player in France.

He says it would be “great for the company to have an international perspective,” but something like that is seen as more of a “middle term project” rather than an immediate focus.

For now, the company is set on continuing its journey in France, perhaps as the third or fourth biggest player in the marker.

SALTI celebrates Wellness Week

Wellness Week took place in September 2024 for the 10th time.

In September 2024, Salti hosted its 10th annual Wellness Week, a long-standing tradition aimed at celebrating and enhancing the well-being of its 500 employees across 47 branches.

Guiot says that central to the company’s values is the belief that prioritising employee happiness and health is essential for long-term success.

During Wellness Week, Salti organised 292 massage sessions, team-building activities, collaborative workshops, and shared meals, all designed to foster connection, relaxation, and enjoyment among employees.

According to the company, its focus on well-being reflects its broader commitment to its workforce.

In 2023, 63% of employees participated in training programs, and the company said it plans to deliver over 600 training sessions annually by 2027.

It says that it is also the only rental company for construction professionals certified with MASE (Manual for Improving Company Safety, Health, and Environmental Standards) across all its branches.

“A happy employee ultimately leads to a delighted client. This is part of Salti’s DNA—our secret formula that drives us forward in serving our clients,” says Guiot.

In 2022, 82% of SALTI employees reported feeling proud to work for the company.