JCB kick off 2014 with £11 million Dutch order

Ecomax engine fuel efficiency key to Boels Rental order for fleet of more than 300 machines

EXPANDING Dutch plant hire company Boels Rental are investing in a fleet of JCB machines worth more than £11 million in their third major order in three years.

Boels Rental are buying more than 300 machines, with delivery set to be completed by the end of March 2014. The deal means that Boels now run a fleet of more than 1,000 JCB machines.

JCB’s chief executive officer, Graeme Macdonald, said: ‘We are delighted to have secured such a significant order from one of Europe’s most important rental companies.

‘This is the third year in succession that JCB have won this major business from Boels, which speaks volumes for the superior quality, performance and efficiency of JCB’s machines.’

The multi-million pound deal has been placed by the Netherlands-based company for a range of micro- and mini-excavators, telehandlers and rough-terrain forklift trucks.

The Loadall telehandlers and rough-terrain forklifts are all powered by JCB’s Ecomax engine, which offers fuel savings of up to 7%.

Pierre Boels, chief executive officer of Boels, said: ‘Performance and efficiency were key factors in our decision to purchase the JCB machines.

‘In particular, the fuel savings offered by the Ecomax-powered products are particularly important, as being environmentally responsible is essential to our business.’

All the machines are also being supplied with JCB’s LiveLink telematics system, which monitors service requirements and protects them from theft.

The Boels business, based in the Maastricht region, started in 1977 when Pierre Boels Sr began a small tool-rental enterprise from his garage with a single grinding machine.

Today the firm has more than 300 outlets, employs more than 2,300 people and operates from more than 1,800 rental locations in hardware stores in The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia and Poland.