Byrne Equipment Rental’s expanded portfolio aims to make it a one-stop shop for customers. Its latest additions will include hybrid energy generators, the first of their kind in the region.

Byrne Equipment Rental has recently expanded its products portfolio with the addition of a new range of access platforms and material handling units (forklifts) in the UAE, and specialist trailers for the Saudi market.

“These investments support our strategy of providing single-point rental solutions and to become an enabler for operational efficiency in the markets we serve,” says Pat Fallon, COO of Byrne.

“We have also recently added an extensive fleet of power sweepers to address the increased demand from specialist manufacturing clients and general facility management companies,” he says.

In Qatar, new additions to its fleet include the Alimak hoists. In the short term, the company plans to introduce its new fleet of hybrid energy generators for more clean and efficient power that reduces carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. 

“These will be the first of their kind in the Middle East and are ideal for most long-term projects such as telecommunications, military applications and construction sites in remote locations. Byrne will offer a customised sustainable solution with this product that will provide customers the best possible savings on fuel and services costs,” says Fallon.

The company’s UAE branch recently added leasing of specialist transport commercial vehicles to its activity and it expects to roll this out across the region in the foreseeable future. 

The company currently carries more than 8,000 items of mechanical and non-mechanical equipment in its rental fleets regionally, which are exclusively for the rental market.  Generators represent the major part of its mechanical fleet ranging in size from 12 to 1,650 kVA with the capability to scale up to multi-megawatt power plants.

To support these products, Byrne also provides bundled fuel tanks, cables, secondary distribution and transformers.

“Unlike some rental companies that limit their offering to mainly power, Byrne’s diverse range includes air compressors, light towers, welding equipment, steam boilers, access equipment, earthmoving plant along with a vast range of modular buildings and rapid deployment warehousing,” says Fallon.

It’s worth noting that supported by its sister company Spacemaker (a specialist in design, manufacture and sale of advanced modular buildings, and with factories in the UAE and Saudi Arabia), Byrne is a market leader in the rental of modular building rental solutions including turnkey accommodation camps to any configuration on a rental basis, temporary offices, rapid deployment warehousing and most lately blast-resistant buildings.

Brands

Byrne currently has all the major brands in its portfolio of products including Himoinsa, Clark, Komatsu, JCB, V Power and Generac, amongst others. The average age of its fleet varies from line to line but typically its mechanical fleets are kept relatively new by industry standards to ensure that the company delivers the latest available technology in its rental fleets.

Commenting on the fleet leasing terms adopted by the company, Fallon says: “The standard flexible period/pricing rental model is the most common, given the wide variety of rental periods and the diversity of the markets we serve. Having said that, there is an increasing trend towards operating lease and in this, a longer-term lower-price option delivers off-balance sheet solutions to our clients.”

Byrne’s most popular product in the market is the power generator. 

“Because of the broad base of fleet available, the seasonal nature of some end-user needs and the very different industries the company appeals to, the most popular items of fleet varies from season to season but it’s safe to say that power generators would feature as a constant in demand,” he comments.

The company has offices and depots in the UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Fujairah), Oman (Muscat), Qatar (Doha) and Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Dammam, Jubail and Yanbu). With the growth of business in recent years, Byrne has undertaken a programme to expand facilities in each country it operates in.

“When launching a new product in the market, we always provide our customers with the necessary training required including assistance and guidance on troubleshooting,” says Fallon. 

Commenting on business, he says: “Byrne was acquired by Hanco in early 2014 and since then the company has enjoyed a period of high growth, thanks to the strong support and heavy fleet investments made by our principals. The strategic investor nature of Byrne’s owners has meant that longer term planning has been possible with a culture and vision that is growth orientated.

“Our selective approach focusing on well-funded reputable construction and oil and gas projects has enabled a fair degreeof stability in our business and helped avoid some of the pitfalls we have seen in other sectors.

“There is certainly more interest in off-balance sheet solutions, as we have seen in our experience year to date and we believe that the equipment rental and lease market remains largely untapped in many sectors.”

According to Fallon, there are multiple reasons why customers opt to rent rather than buying equipment. These include:

• The short-term nature of their requirement not justifying purchase of the equipment;

• The growing recognition that renting is preferable to using valuable capex to procure equipment that is not relevant to their core business, providing an off-balance sheet solution and passing the costly repair and maintenance expense to the renting entity;

• A simple short-term spike in activity exhausting their owned assets and driving a need to hire.

Fallon notes there has been significant change in clients’ mindsets when analysing the cost benefits of direct ownership compared to that of the rental offering.

“Previously, clients had a greater clarity of sustained projects and favoured the perceived benefits of purchasing assets, with costs written down over several successive projects. In more uncertain times such as these, the concept of renting on a project-by-project basis and allocating costs accordingly has seen renewed appeal of the rental model.

“In addition, with rental options, the end user does not have increased head count/cost to manage and maintain the assets. Our clients are clearly seeing the benefits of focusing on their core business and outsourcing plant, which is where Byrne’s diversity of fleet and broad geographical footprint is finding favour,” he says.

Byrne serves companies in the oil and gas sector, construction, marine repair and events market. 

“We are proud to say we have been involved on most major projects under way in the countries where we operate and, more importantly, we maintain excellent relationships with most of the players in these industries,” he remarks. “In the coming months, we will extend our footprint with the opening of a new depot in Kuwait, and expect to open two to three new depots across Saudi Arabia and Oman in the foreseeable future. We are also actively looking at the African market.”

Byrne manages its fleet with established tracking systems, which enables real-time visibility on plant deployed on rent, mitigates the risk of theft and ensures that it monitors its equipment efficiently for preventative maintenance.

“In addition, and uniquely in many areas where we operate, Byrne provides 24/7 support crews controlled by trained service personnel which sets us apart from our competition,” he concludes.