Successful IRC attracts nearly 300 delegates
24 November 2014
The International Rental Conference (IRC) Asia took place on 24 November in Shanghai, China – a high-level forum for debate on the fast-growing equipment rental industry in China and wider Asia.
The event, which took place at the Double Tree Hilton hotel the day before the start of the Bauma China construction equipment exhibition, attracted 280 industry executives.
Organised by KHL’s International Rental News, IRC Asia featured a line-up of leading international speakers sharing their expert knowledge.
This included a keynote address from Masaki Kurita, president/CEO, Nikken Corp, who told delegates that the company planned to develop its rental business in the industrial sector so that it contributed half of the company's revenue by 2020.
Revenues from this sector for this major Japanese rental company amount to 35% of the total, with the remaining 65% coming from construction.
"We are pursuing a strategy of growing our revenue in the industrial sector," Mr Kurita said. “I believe that we can play a key role in the industrial equipment rental sector.”
Lei Shing Hong CEO Lawrence Poh told delegates that exponential growth was on the cards for the Chinese rental market, but he said there were many challenges that must be overcome first.
"It's not any easy journey. But I take a long term views - if you are going to be a rental company is China you have to take the long term view," he said.
Other speakers included Li Hua Bin, general manager at Shanghai Jinheyuan Equipment Rental, who told delegates that that while the Chinese access equipment is in its infancy and had a very bright future, there were risks.
He said, "Access platforms are not very sophisticated products so the risk is everyone sees it as an easy market to get into and rushes into it, and the market then gets saturated."
Strategy
Meanwhile, Terex China president Ken Lousberg said growth in China’s construction sector must be matched by an increased focus on improving health and safety standards within the industry.
“As the largest company operating here, I think we in fact have a moral obligation to lead on health and safety and to help the government understand what other countries have gone through to improve their work at height safety rules,” he said.
Delegates also heard from Bob Carlstedt, managing director of consultant Ducker Worldwide’s Chinese operation, who highlighted a study into Chinese rental companies and equipment dealers at the event.
Mr Carlstedt said, “The key point which came out of the study is that there are opportunities for dealerships to better support the rental market and likewise for rental companies to support dealers.
“I think that rental companies recognise their issues with cash flow and they are asking for help on how to handle that in terms of improving trade –in values of equipment.”
This is just a snapshot of the many varied presentations at this year’s IRC – with other speakers including Greg Parfitt, executive general manager for sales and specialist business at Coates Hire, and Zeng Guang'an, chairman of Guangxi LiuGong Machinery and president of Guangxi LiuGong Group.
More stories from the event will be coming soon to KHL.com. For more details of the full speaker line-up and conference details, go to:
www.khl-group.com/events/irc
