Genie Service Solutions – a profitable choice for Stavdal, Sweden

A unique fleet aftermarket service backed by test-proven financial benefits

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Launched in 2014, Genie Service Solutions (GSS) is gaining increasingly strong interest among rental companies Europe-wide. Following the conclusive results of over eighteen months review and in-the-field trials in the UK, leading Swedish rental operator Stavdal is one of the first to have seen how this unique ‘à la carte’ aftermarket offering can significantly reduce operating costs and increase machine utilization to increase return on investment (ROI).

Focusing on rental ROI, GSS notably afforded Stavdal the advantage of mitigating financial risks to enable the company to invest in a large number of new Genie® telematics-ready scissor lifts and boom lifts. Further enhancing the efficiency of its 1000-unit strong fleet of mobile access equipment, Stavdal also chose to equip 300 units of its existing machines with the Trackunit™ SmartID card Fleet Management System.

Due to economic pressures in their respective domestic economies, over recent years an increasing number of rental companies have been unable to invest in new equipment as regularly as they used to. Many businesses have even had to slim down their organizations, which in some cases has led to losing the experienced personnel that maintain their machines to the required standard.

“As our customers are well-aware, with aerial work platforms there can be no shortcuts in terms of maintenance, inspection and certification,” says Matt Skipworth, Service Solutions Manager, Terex AWP. With the introduction of Stage IIIB engines and more features in the near future, even higher-level skills will be required to maintain the next generation of machines correctly."

GSS can keep customers’ machines well-maintained, certified and safe to operate - backed by the results of over 18 months’ trial and in-depth review, Genie has helped customers reduce maintenance costs by up to as much as 25 per cent. According to trial results, it can also significantly increase machine uptime and rates of utilization to raise the profitability of rental fleets - as well as increasing the already high residual value of used Genie machines by up to 10 per cent.

Driven by the need to increase cost-efficiencies to support its return on investment, Stavdal knew that it had to streamline its organization to remain competitive. As Mikael Olsson, CEO Stavdal AB, Vastra Frolunda, Sweden explains, “Together with our respective sales and service management teams, we put our heads together to compare figures. Basing our calculations on the results of the recent Genie Service Solutions trials, it rapidly became evident that using Genie Service Solutions as third party for the maintenance of our new telematics-ready Genie scissor and boom lifts, we had come across an extremely cost-efficient solution that covered our new machines for the next four years.”

Based on feedback from customers, according to Matt Skipworth, “GSS provides exactly the kind of service offering that rental businesses are looking for to meet the challenges of today’s tough European market.” In the case of Stavdal, by extrapolating on the results of the same aftermarket service option tested by a large UK rental customer, “We were able to estimate that Stavdal could safely count on the forecast of an 18-day increase in machine availability per annum. Multiplied by the number of machines rented at approximately 50 euro’s a day over a period of four years, the result simply spoke for itself,” says Matt Skipworth.

Including parts, labour, regular 30-day in-service checks, followed by six monthly or annual service visits dependent on model and power source, the GSS 48-month ‘Planned Maintenance’ option also means that the Genie team would check for any outstanding bulletins and perform the work for any applicable safety or product notices over the four year period.

Adding to its customers’ peace of mind, should machines suffer any down time, GSS customers also benefit from the skilled support of the Genie technical service team Europe-wide. This service is also backed in ten European countries, by the efficient local presence of the rapidly developing Genie Authorised Service Provider network.

“As soon as we had got all our figures straight, besides the benefits of offering high quality maintenance in-line with Genie service manuals, and cost reductions with a rapid effect on our profits, it did not take long to realize that our sales and technical team would also have more time to focus on what they know best. This is what matters the most in our business,” says Mikael Olsson. “I’m referring to advice, in-the-field customer service and pre-delivery reduce maintenance costs by up to as much as 25 per cent. According to trial results, it can also significantly increase machine uptime and rates of utilization to raise the profitability of rental fleets - as well as increasing the already high residual value of used Genie machines by up to 10 per cent.

Driven by the need to increase cost-efficiencies to support its return on investment, Stavdal knew that it had to streamline its organization to remain competitive. As Mikael Olsson, CEO Stavdal AB, Vastra Frolunda, Sweden explains, “Together with our respective sales and service management teams, we put our heads together to compare figures. Basing our calculations on the results of the recent Genie Service Solutions trials, it rapidly became evident that using Genie Service Solutions as third party for the maintenance of our new telematics-ready Genie scissor and boom lifts, we had come across an extremely cost-efficient solution that covered our new machines for the next four years.”

Based on feedback from customers, according to Matt Skipworth, “GSS provides exactly the kind of service offering that rental businesses are looking for to meet the challenges of today’s tough European market.” In the case of Stavdal, by extrapolating on the results of the same aftermarket service option tested by a large UK rental customer, “We were able to estimate that Stavdal could safely count on the forecast of an 18-day increase in machine availability per annum. Multiplied by the number of machines rented at approximately 50 euro’s a day over a period of four years, the result simply spoke for itself,” says Matt Skipworth.

Including parts, labour, regular 30-day in-service checks, followed by six monthly or annual service visits dependent on model and power source, the GSS 48-month ‘Planned Maintenance’ option also means that the Genie team would check for any outstanding bulletins and perform the work for any applicable safety or product notices over the four year period.

Adding to its customers’ peace of mind, should machines suffer any down time, GSS customers also benefit from the skilled support of the Genie technical service team Europe-wide. This service is also backed in ten European countries, by the efficient local presence of the rapidly developing Genie Authorised Service Provider network.

“As soon as we had got all our figures straight, besides the benefits of offering high quality maintenance in-line with Genie service manuals, and cost reductions with a rapid effect on our profits, it did not take long to realize that our sales and technical team would also have more time to focus on what they know best. This is what matters the most in our business,” says Mikael Olsson. “I’m referring to advice, in-the-field customer service and pre-delivery inspections - instead of constantly thinking about regular service checks and parts orders which are part of the many time-consuming duties related to machine maintenance.”

As previously mentioned, in addition to helping Stavdal for the first time in several years to purchase and ensure the maintenance of the new Genie machines that it needed, GSS also helped the company to secure the cost of investing in Genie telematics-ready machines to equip 300 of its earlier ‘off-line’ machines. “It’s fantastic to be able to check battery charge, help ensure that only trained operators use the equipment thanks to the ID card, and know that the alarms and remote disabling function help deter and prevent theft. Better still, since the Track and Trace system provides us access to the key information we need, it makes it much easier and efficient to identify technical problems and follow-up rapidly by sending the right person on-site with the right tools and parts. We’re all ready and set for a successful future. At Stavdal, there’s no question of looking back,” says Mikael Olsson.