Pictured - United Kingdom Warehousing Association

8 Business NewsINBRIEFPositiveresponse91 per cent of thosepolled in a recentsurvey undertaken bystorage equipmentspecialist, Link 51,are expecting toincrease warehousecapacity by 10 percent or more over thenext year The studywas carried out‘amongst senior decisionmakers involvedin warehousing andstorage’ across theUK.Polish contractFollowing its creationearlier this year as ajoint venturebetween UK-basedKeswick Enterprisesand Vector GlobalLogistics of Poland,Keswick Vector SCMPolska Sp. z.o.o, haswon a three-yearlogistics contract withEsotiq & HendersonSA – the country'sleading specialist lingerieand underwearretail chain. The contractwill be based atthe joint venture's6,000 sq metre (distributioncentre atPrologis Park inGdansk, Poland.MATERIALS HANDLINGForklift users look toshort term rental dealsTo cope with seasonalsupply chain throughputspikes, companies havealways looked to supplementtheir lift truck fleetsby drafting in extra vehicleson short term rentalcontracts.But, with more andmore businesses seekingto meet their materialshandling needs withoutmaking a long term financialcommitment, the UKmarket for short termrental trucks is growingsignificantly.In fact, according tostatistics recently issued byinternational marketresearch company,RedShift, some 10 percent of the forklift truckscurrently operating acrossEurope have been suppliedon a short termrental contract.Neil Warren,Jungheinrich UK Ltd'sUsed Equipment andShort Term Rental Director,believes that the growth inthe market for short termtruck rental represents atrend among truck usersand may soon rival longterm contract rental andoutright truck purchase asa user’s preferred methodof truck acquisition.“The upturn in thenumber of trucks enteringthe market on short termdeals is being driven inpart by the harsh economicsituation,” he says.ABOVE: Neil Warren“But, paradoxically, asthe economy emergesfrom the doldrums, Ibelieve more businesseswill be tempted by shortterm rental options toacquire the materials handlingequipment neededto manage new contractsor cope with increasedsupply chain throughput.”While short term contractshave traditionallybeen perceived as beingmore expensive thanmore traditional truckacquisition methods, thereis a strong economic andstrategic business case fortaking the short termoption, as Neil Warrenexplains.“Whereas, traditionallylift truck dealers haveviewed rental fleets asemergency cover toreplace malfunctioningtrucks that cannot berepaired quickly or as aquick fix solution forestablished customers whoneed to cope with seasonalpeaks, many lift truckusers now see short termforklift rental as somethingmore strategic – ratherthan a stop-gap measure.As a result, short termrental has become part ofthe business model formany truck users, ” saysNeil Warren.He continues: “A growingpart of our business isfrom minimal term contracts– which give excellentpricing options andprovide full flexibility.When compared to standardfixed term rentalcontracts of, say, fiveyears, they representexcellent value for money.In particular, we haveseen a notable uptake inthis type of contract in themanufacturing sector –where, thanks to volatileeconomy, flexibility is key.To cope with the upturnin demand for short termrental trucks, Jungheinrichhas invested over £5 millionin its short term rentalfleet over the past 12months.The company’s UK fleetis now in excess of 2000units and includes modelsfrom Jungheinrich’s fullrange of warehouse andcounterbalanced trucks aswell as rough terrain vehiclessupplied by Manitou.August 2012www.ukwa.org.uk