GAP GROUP EXHIBIT NEW LIFTING DIVISION AT 5TH ANNUAL EXECUTIVE HIRE EVENT
With the launch of its Lifting Division, “GAP Lifting Hire and Sales”, which officially commenced operations on 4th January 2011, GAP Group was amongst the many exhibitors keen to promote their business at the 5th Executive Hire Show, which took place 9th & 10th February 2011, in Coventry. With an initial capital investment of over £2 million, this move broadens the Group’s offering into the provision of Lifting and Materials Handling equipment. With six depots operating nationally, the initial strategic locations at Shotts, Warrington, Bradford, Birmingham, Bristol and London all offer the most up to date equipment and technology, and continue the Company’s push to be at the forefront of innovation within the hire industry. Moreover, there are exciting plans in place to expand the Lifting Division to a total of 20 locations over the course of the next two years.
The annual Hire event, held in the Ricoh Arena, welcomed a record number of visitors; all keen to see the latest innovations in tools, plant and equipment and demonstrated its significance and pulling power within the Hire Industry by attracting a staggering number of 1,843 relevant hire industry visitors from all over the UK, including those passionate hirers who made the effort to travel from north of the border and from both northern and southern Ireland. With an almost 25% increase in the number of visitors from the 2010 event, GAP Group were among the many eager hiring companies to attend the show and discover the 78 new products and services being promoted by the 116 exhibitors. With an abundance of demonstrations to see and the chance to bag some freebies from some of the exhibitors, it is no wonder that the event proved so successful and great fun was had by all.
Paul Glover, GAP’s Lifting Division Manager said, “The Executive Hire Event has proven very beneficial for us, having had the opportunity to meet and add more customers to our portfolio, we are very confident that the lifting division will be as, if not more, successful than we had hoped as we guarantee to provide fantastic lifting solutions through our extensive range of lifting products. We’re also extremely positive that the 80 years of lifting experience that our designated management team has between us will prove invaluable to ourselves, but more importantly to our customers”. GAP Group is typical of the many positive hirers who attended the industry’s main event and the company looks forward to attending next year with the dates of the event already announced as 8th and 9th Feb 2012.
GAP Lifting Hire and Sales is the first hire company in the United Kingdom to incorporate the fitting of ‘Safetrak’ RFID chips on all of their lifting equipment, allowing them to monitor and control not only their own equipment but also that of their clients if required. Paul Glover is clear that the primary objective of the division is to maintain the same high standards of both Product and Service Quality that GAP’s customers in the Plant and Tool market currently enjoy. “Safetrak is a unique, customisable electronic system that brings equipment status management to your desktop which allows you to track and control all your lifting equipment at the touch of a button and all of GAP’s lifting equipment hire fleet will contain an RFID chip”, says Glover.
Malcolm Campbell, GAP’s Health & Safety Manager, also points out that all products are provided with certificates of conformity captured by our unique Safetrak system and with such a high importance being placed on Health & Safety in GAP, Malcolm states that “as always we are committed to promoting a healthy and safe culture for the protection of both customers and employees and the fact that Safetrak puts you in control means that human errors and paper trails are eliminated, minimising downtime and helping you comply with legislation for a safer, more profitable business”.