For independent Harrogate based plant and machinery hire specialist, Task It Plant Hire, the last 12 months have been plagued by the devastating impact of plant theft, that has seen no fewer than seven of its initial fleet of 30 mini excavators stolen in just one quarter, between October 2007 and December 2007.
But instead of letting the thieves win and break the business he has worked so hard to build up, Task It Plant Hire director, Austin Tasker, has donned a splash of white livery, taken a heavy dose of Kosran security and invested in a brand new fleet of Cat mini excavators, to fight off the thieves and put them out of action.
The courageous move by Austin has seen him not only replace his entire fleet of excavators for Caterpillar machines, it has also seen him increase his operation to incorporate no fewer than 40 Caterpillar mini excavators, making Task It Plant Hire, Finning’s largest independent mini excavator customer for the last 12 months.
To combat the threat of theft, the new fleet has been armed with a Kosran keypad security system, GPS tracking, ID stamping and even had all of the Cat yellow booms painted white!
Commenting on the roller coaster year of theft and plant renewal, Austin said: “It’s the one customer call you dread, and pray will never happen, the words ‘Our mini excavator has been stolen’ are just devastating. When you have heard this line said in normally stronger words seven times in just three months, you feel deflated and don’t even get angry!
“But what you do get is smart! Thanks to my close relationship with Finning that is exactly what we have done. For me and anyone who knows me, just packing up was not an option, so we have taken the fight to the thieves with a five pronged approach. We have completely renewed our fleet so that those loyal customers that stuck by us through the bad times have all the benefits of using what I would say are the best mini excavators on the market.
“We have also put the Kosran keyboard security system in place so we text the codes to our customers and deactivate the machines every day so that they can be left on site. We then added GPS technology to locate the units, ID stamping to identify them, and finally we have taken a not so modern but highly visible approach to identifying our machines, by painting part of the booms white. This has had a dramatic effect of setting the machines apart from the competition, so if the day ever comes when the police are chasing a thief using our GPS tracking guidance, at least they know which white boomed Caterpillar machine belongs to Task It Plant Hire!”
With additional vanguard security on its Cat 307 units, having purchased 14 Cat 301.6's in June 2007, Task It Plant Hire made the additional purchase of ten 301.6C Cab units, ten 303C CR's, two 305C CR's, three 307C SBRT's and the company's first CB-224E roller in February 2008 followed closely by another in April, due to the success of the first roller.
The fleet will be located at Task It Plant Hire’s Harrogate depot, that has also been bolstered by extra security and with the company still offering a special 24 hour delivery service and two hour repair or replacement pledge, Austin and his team are now concentrating on increasing market share in the long term hire sector.
Austin added: “Bar the problems we have had with theft, the key to our success has been a customer service focus, backed by the latest equipment and this is one of the reasons why we chose Finning backed Caterpillar machines. With reliability, 24 hour delivery and in particular our 2 hour repair or replacement pledge, being our key selling points, with Finning on board we now know we have the right support backing up the business.
“Because Finning have a national service network and mobile engineers, we are confident that if one of our machines is in need of repair or breaks down, a Finning engineer can be with us or our customers quickly to sort out the problem. By coupling this service back up with the robustness and inherent reliability of our new Cat mini excavators, we will be able to achieve high levels of chargeable time for our new fleet, a factor that will be key to our future expansion and profitability.”
Commenting on the plant theft challenge, the purchase and switch to Caterpillar and Finning by Task It Plant Hire, Finning Sales representative Karl Charlton said: “Plant theft is a real issue for our industry and one that we are constantly fighting against. By teaming up with Cat wherever we can to develop solutions and make sure equipment is compatible with the latest systems like Kosran, we are able to offer equipment and solutions that can help customers like Task It Plant Hire fight back against the criminals.
“Putting the problems caused by the plant theft issue to one side, Task It Plant Hire are a prime example of a business that has set out to put the customer first, tailoring a proposition to offer the best equipment and comfort to hirers.
“Unlike other companies in the hire market, Task It Plant Hire have chosen to purchase Cat mini excavators with full cab systems, as their market sector of choice, hiring to smaller builders who tend to operate the plant themselves, see comfort, shelter and warmth as key areas they are willing to pay for.
“By switching to Caterpillar machines with heavy duty bodywork, Task It Plant Hire now have a fleet of compact, high powered mini excavators that offer operators a multitude of benefits, all enjoyed from a spacious cab with superior legroom.”
“Only time will tell if Task It Plant Hire can beat the thieves but they are certainly using everything in their armoury to do so !”