INTERVIEW
equipment rental companies inChinawith
fleets above 500units.Despite this, around
80%of activeAWPs in the country are in
the hands of rental companies,he says,most
ofwhich are small, local outfitswith few
machines.
WithChina being such a fledglingmarket
for access equipment,why didHorizondecide
to get involved? Speaking through a company
translator,MrChunyu explains.
“Firstly,China has beendeveloping rental
formore than20 years, so it nowunderstands
the concept of rental.Secondly, the use of these
types ofmachines is growing as people use
more-and-more equipment rather thanmanual
labour, and thirdly,China is attaching great
importance to safety onworksites and it leads
topeople usingAWPs rather than scaffolding.”
MrChunyu adds,“Andwe could see that
many companies in thewell-developedmarkets
havemade a fortune in theAWP sector.”
There is the additional factor, saysMr
Chunya, thatChina as awhole is becoming
morewealthy,“We are richpeople now.”He
explains there is a ‘positive influence’ from
outside the country encouraging it todevelop
safety.For example,Western contractors insist
onusing equipment thatmaximises safety
on theirworksites inChina.An example of
this isDisneylandShanghai,which is under
construction.“And there are similar foreign-
fundedprojects that have influenced theway
we dowork.”
Horizon,whichhas 13branches
acrossChina, also claims tobe the
biggest renter of paving equipment
in the countrywith a fleet of
200units, alongwith a range of
generators and forklifts,bringing
its total fleet size to around1700
units across all equipment types.
Of the access equipment in
its fleet,80% ismade upof scissors,with the
majority of the rest beingbooms.Horizon
chooses to invest inGenie and JLGmachines,
with a vastmajority,1150of them coming
fromGenie. It has about 50 JLG’s, all ofwhich
are booms.The fleet includes one eachof the
twobiggest booms in theworld: the 180 ft
Genie SX-180 and the 185 ft 1850SJ from
JLG.Verticalmasts and spiders are the likely
next addition to its fleet.
Horizon’smove into rental in2011 came as
a result of the experience of its parent company,
FarEastHorizon, in the financial leasing
market.FarEastHorizon’s clients included
construction companieswhichwere using
leases to acquire equipment. Its first access
platform in2012 followedmore than two years’
research into international rentalmarkets,
including fact-findingmissions toSingapore,
Japan,HongKong,Germany and, specifically,
UnitedRentals in theUSA.With this research
inmind,Horizon concluded itwas the right
time forChina.
Good shape
The company ismaking themost ofChina’s
transitionby growingother parts of its business
too,notably its paving equipment fleet.“The
Chinese paving equipment rental industry is in
good shape after years of development; how-
ever,most of the rental companies are small.
Sowewant tobe the bigger onewith a strong
industrial influence.”
The sector is notwithout its challenges,
however,with tough competition and low
pricing affecting it for the last couple of years.
“But, from a long-term view, themarket is
still promising.Wewill expandour paving
equipment fleet step-by-step, andwe aspire to
buildour ownbrand.”
The company is always on the look-out
for additional rental segments, althoughMr
Chunyu intends tokeep an eye onproduct
trends and customer demandbefore deciding
EuanYoudale
spokewith the general manager of China’s
biggest AWP rental company
ZhangChunyu
to find out
how the sector is set to change and grow.
Zhang Chunyu, general
manager of Shanghai Horizon
Equipment and Engineering
Company.
Changing
Horizon
26
access
INTERNATIONAL
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015
W
ith 1400 lifts in its fleet
ShanghaiHorizonEquipment
andEngineeringCompany
has established itself asChina’s biggest
AWP rental company and is determined
tohold on to that position as competition
in the sector rises. It will not have escaped
anyone’s attention thatHorizon’s fleet size is
significantly smaller than those ownedby the
biggest rental companies in long-established
access nations, andprovides a good indication
of howmuchpotential theChinese rental
market holds.
According toZhangChunyu,Horizon’s
generalmanager, there are onlyfive access
Horizonwas employed to help build the
Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention
Centre.
