Leading rental company draws on the quality of its offering to support, professionalise and structure the market

Eurogrues Maroc consolidates its Genie® fleet, bringing Morocco its first Genie Xtra Capacity™ (XC™) and hybrid boom lifts

Advertisement

Leading lifting and handling rental company in Morocco — Eurogrues Maroc — is present on a number of major port development, electric power plant, wind turbine and industrial facilities programmes. International investors based in Europe back many of these projects. Following a first order for 58 Genie® boom lifts in 2016, the company continues to invest in quality and safety with the acquisition of 99 additional Genie units in 2019, and they plan to order 100 more by 2020.

"It’s one thing to be the market leader and to reap the benefits,” says Mr. Jose Antonio Moreno, Managing Director, Eurogrues Maroc. "But this also implies having a duty. For us, this means developing the professionalism of our sector. With this comes promoting the safe use of the equipment that we provide, as well as accompanying end-user customers towards new technologies, be it in terms of clean machines that respect the environment, or that, due to their new lift capacities, combine increased productivity with even higher levels of performance."

Genie Z®-60 FE and Genie Xtra Capacity™ (XC™) boom lifts were part of Eurogrues Maroc’s latest orders. A true “2-In-1” solution, the Genie FE hybrid units combine the benefits of quiet, emissions-free indoor operation when used in 100% electric mode, with the powerful 4WD all terrain abilities of dieselpowered machines for outdoor tasks. As for the Genie XC models, in addition to offering a dual lift capacity of 300 kg (660 lb) unrestricted and 454 kg (1,000 lb) restricted that increases productivity, these models also combine new technologies such as automatic envelope control, a feature that is highly valued by operators for its performance benefits.

As Mr. Hatim Jaadour, Sales Director Eurogrues Maroc, explains: "If end-users are not given access to these new technologies, how can you expect them to be aware of their advantages? As the market leader in Morocco, we have an educational role to play with an offering that, little by little, will help customers to become familiar with the benefits of using these new work-at-height solutions. At the same time, we also contribute to raising awareness concerning the new regulations that need to be 2/2 considered to professionalise and structure the market. It is in our interest, in the interest of end-users, and even the state, to drive improvement towards safe use and behaviour in the lifting sector."

The reason for this is that mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) are relatively new to Morocco, arriving as recently as 2008-2009 with the construction of the Renault factory in Tangiers, bringing with it the introduction of new safety standards. Since then, the aerial access sector has continued to develop to reach a national fleet that currently counts more than 2.000 units. The past two years have seen a change in behaviour, with end-users becoming stricter regarding safety. However, in other subSaharan African countries where Eurogrues Maroc is established, this evolution in attitudes is still in the early days of development. For Christophe Rousseau, Genie Sales Director, Southern Europe and North Africa, Terex AWP: "Since 2016, Genie and Eurogrues Maroc have established strong ties based on mutual trust that have led to large orders. Leader on its market, Eurogrues has invested in Genie models that feature our latest technologies, allowing them to remain a step ahead of competitors and to accompany the market in moving towards new practises. Their latest order, that includes Genie hybrid Z-60 FE and XC boom lifts, is a perfect illustration of this strategy.” Mr. Hatim Jaadour concludes: "When we met with Genie to place our first order in 2016, we only owned 43 m (141 ft) machines. At the time, our aim was to diversify our fleet with a partner that, over and above its strong brand image, could provide us profitable, reliable, durable equipment with a high resale value, backed by quality service and aftermarket support when needed. Genie has never let us down.