Looking at where Boels UK’s tool and equipment hire depots are located, it would be reasonable to assume that there are a number of regions that are ripe for development. “Boels is an organisation that is focused on growth across Europe, whether this is in Germany, Scandinavia or the UK, my task is to consolidate and grow the UK business. Above all, however, we need to ensure we have the right people who share our commitment to customer service and the ‘One Boels’ values that run throughout the organisation.”
The company aims to be operationally nimble to meet customer needs.
“We need to think both locally and globally. Locally, we are strengthening the foundations of the UK business, with the recruitment of dedicated managers for HR, property and Health & Safety, as many of these areas of business are obviously subject to UK-specific regulations. Then we will look at ways of further developing the business, and of encouraging an operational nimbleness to grasp new opportunities. We have the resources to invest in the hire fleet, with flexibility to meet local requirements: depot managers are empowered to buy particular items if there is a clear demand for them”
Huge support
The ‘global’ context relates to how the UK business interacts with the other countries of operation, and benefits from, the Boels headquarters at Sittard in The Netherlands. “Sittard gives us huge support in terms of central product procurement, IT, marketing and business analysis. The Boels UK operation is not treated as a separate entity but as an integrated part of the ‘One Boels’ ethos, where everyone recognises our common corporate culture.”
As soon as Boels Rental entered the UK market in 2017, the industry waited with anticipation to see what other depot openings or acquisitions might take place. Following the current period of consolidation and integration, growth will obviously be an area of focus.
The operation benefits from having a young hire fleet.
“There has inevitably been pressure on rates; yes we need to compete, but we want to be sensible. The fact that our hire fleet is very young, having been bought since 2017, gives us an advantage. Customers love new equipment and we encourage colleagues to deliver a service second to none, being there when the client needs us.
“We also benefit from having our very well-established Survey & Laser division (on which EHN reported in our April/May 2019 issue), which is doing well in a growing market.”
The industry is certainly taking a keen interest in the Boels Rental UK operation, and all the more so following Asif Latief’s appointment. An active user of social media, he has been developing the Boels brand in the UK by posting updates during each of his depot visits, and these have typically each generated in excess of 50,000 viewings. That shows the level of interest and it will be fascinating to see how the business develops in the months and years ahead.
• After a period of consolidation, driving the business forward will be a key focus. 21
www.boels.com Optimistic outlook
Looking at the industry generally, Asif believes that the market has been challenging but is optimistic. “It has been relatively flat recently but there are green shoots of potential recovery as we look forward. For one thing, we now have a decision on the dreaded B-word [Brexit] and the December general election returned a government with a clear majority. The HS2 high speed railway has at last been given the green light and many other projects are now being approved.
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