Strong growth prompts Electro-Rent Europe expansion

The company currently employs more than 50 people in EMEA and will continue its recruitment drive over the coming years to cope with increasing demand from various end markets.

“As we are growing our business rapidly and more equipment is coming in, we need to be able to treat, inspect and ship equipment faster while maintaining a high level of quality,” said Wouter Merckx, Operations Manager for Electro Rent Europe. “Quality is our top priority, and we make sure our customers receive the best service and product possible. Our rental and used equipment is checked for functionality and completeness and calibrated in our A2LA accredited laboratory or by our approved vendors.”

By adding a building behind the existing headquarters, the company has enlarged its office and warehouse space and doubled its laboratory capacity. The company has added several new offices and extra meeting rooms. Doubling the laboratory space gives room for nine technicians compared with five previously. It has also installed a separate calibration laboratory.

“We have been doing calibrations in house for both wireline and wireless equipment since one year,” said Merckx. “Thanks to the new dedicated calibration lab, we can do these calibrations in ideal environmental circumstances as we can control temperature and humidity in the room. Each lab technician will also have a larger and enhanced test bench on which to work. This will ensure that our level of service will remain high.”

The warehouse expansion includes adding more racks to hold more stock. The overall flow of the warehouse has been optimised drastically. Thanks to a new transit zone, incoming equipment and stock will be separated completely. A conveyor belt will connect the transit zone to the warehouse, which will be used to transport in- and outgoing equipment.

This ergonomic improvement will also contribute to the efficiency of the warehouse. Fast access times and short travel routes will result in an enormous increase in productivity. Efficient storage helps to reduce order throughput times considerably, producing drastic time savings in order picking. For example, compact and clear presentation of goods will lead to improved accuracy and less lost time during order picking.

“As we are growing our EMEA markets rapidly, we are adding more staff to make sure we keep the level of service high for our current customers, and we anticipate future growth,” said ERE Managing Director David Saeys. “Thanks to the increase in staff, repairs and calibration can be done faster so our equipment can be made available much more quickly for our customers.”