Electro Rent grows European operations with UK office opening
The company can trace its roots back 50 years, in the USA, moving into Europe and China in 2005. It maintains a “pool” of rental equipment valued at €550million and comprising over 40,000 units, which it holds in a small number of key locations around the world (in the USA, in Mechelen, Belgium, in China and now in Staines, UK). David Saeys says that the company does not aim to replicate its stock in each location, rather, it tailors instruments held in each place to the needs of each region; but that it can, and does, ship units around the world in response to specific requirements. It categorises its holding as serving General Purpose T&M; Digital Design; Wireless & Wireline; and Electrical & Power sectors.
In its equipment profile, the company says it purchases from the number one and two suppliers in any given category, but this still gives it a supplier base of over 200 manufacturers. Electro Rent tends not to hold the very highest-end of any given instrument type, Saeys comments; for example, at present, a 100-GHz oscilloscope would be very much a research instrument, and most like to be a long-term and outright purchase for a major project. But the company – using the same example – would have 50-GHz-class units, “and everything up to that level”.
EDN Europe posed the question to Saeys; “Given that engineers, broadly speaking, are aware that equipment rental provide instruments at short notice, as an alternative to purchase, what would you consider to be the least-known aspect of Electro Rent’s operation?”
“It is probably the breadth of options we can offer, and the flexibility to move costs between capital spend and operational budgets [‘capex’ and ‘opex’]. We offer straightforward rental; or finance towards purchase; or sales of used equipment. Rental can be for one week to one year, and can be terminated if the unit is no longer required; or equipment can be leased for lower rates for longer-term commitment. Arrangements can be made to credit rental payments if a unit is subsequently purchased, or rent-to-own can be set up from the outset. Equipment purchases can be of instruments that have been in the company’s rental pool, or we provide financing as a separate facility.” In short, Saeys says, his company covers virtually every means of acquiring, temporarily or permanently, T&M units.
As is usual for the sector, the company’s offering includes any maintenance or calibration that falls due during a rental period; reflecting the changing nature of T&M products, it also spans enabling, for specific periods if required, of software keys or licences to turn on particular options within a product. The company has its own ISO 9000 and ANSI accredited calibration laboratory.
Electro Rent is currently recruiting staff for its new location in west London; the UK office will allow Electro Rent Europe to support current customers with better local service and drive future expansion in the region. The office will offer technical sales and support services, provide on-site training and seminars and hold local inventory for rapid delivery of critical items.
Electro Rent Europe; www.electrorent-europe.com/