Leading body and trailer manufacturer Cartwright has announced another record year for its expanding Rentals operation. Annual turnover last year hit £20 million for the first time ever in the division’s seven year history. The fleet size of about 5000 rental trailers grew by nearly 30 per cent with utilisation much higher than originally forecast.
Paul Burn Rental Sales Director commented: “It has been a tremendous year for the Cartwright Rentals division with unprecedented growth in all areas of the business. “Increased revenues have enabled us to achieve the milestone of a £20 million annual turnover and we were delighted to win business from a number of high profile customers who used our rental products for the first time. “We are proud to be one of the fastest growing parts of the Cartwright business and our growth shows every sign of not only being maintained but actually increasing,” he said. He revealed that although the rental trailer park numbers around 5000 units, the company has actually disposed of 1000 trailers over the last few years which has been part of a drive to re-shape the profile and reduce the average age of the fleet.
Cartwright has invested over £9.5 million in new equipment since 2011 as part of a major replacement policy and is continuing its refurbishment programme at a rate of 250/300 trailers a year. Paul Burn continued: “A lot of our customers like to try the product through the Rental Division and then move on to buying new equipment. It is an established company strategy that highlights our flexible approach to our customers and our commitment to meet their requirements”, he said. “We ensure that we have the right fleet mix of products to meet their needs, basically the right kit, in the right place at the right time.” An example of this working is our commitment to build the UKs largest rental pool of EN12642XL curtainside trailers.
The Rentals division has major plans for the future: Following the recent launch of the company’s new Scottish office, the aim is to expand the number of trailers north of the border from the current trailer park of 200 to over 350 over the next 12 months. There are also plans to establish a new rentals branch in Yorkshire during 2014. Paul Burn also revealed that there are plans to take on a number of new double deck refrigerated trailers, double deck ambient boxes, triaxle tail lift boxes and tall automotive specification curtainsiders. He added: “It has been a fantastic year again for our rentals operation but we are by no means complacent and we are investing substantially in the operation in order to enjoy further sustained growth. “It has been an incredible success story for the rentals operation since its launch in 2007 when we had just 1000 trailers and a £3 million annual turnover. Growth has averaged between 25 and 30 per cent a year and we are now a key part of Cartwright’s ‘manufacturing and more’ offer to customers.”
