Blackwood feels the earth move

HIRE AND RENTAL MAGAZINE SPOKE TO BEN QUIRK, OWNER OF BLACKWOOD HIRE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA, ABOUT HOW HE GOT ON WITH A MACHINE THEY HAD ON TEST AFTER THEY SAW IT ON DISPLAY AT THE ADELAIDE HIRE22 EXHIBITION IN MAY.

How did you come to add the Flextool TuffTruk to your fleet?

I always read Hire and Rental Magazine to keep abreat of the latest innovations in the market, which is where I first became aware of the Flextool TuffTruk. Much of our purchasing and equipment research is done at the Hire convention, which is where we ordered our first battery-powered unit after seeing it on display at HIRE22 in May. We’ve also since added a second unit to our fleet to meet demand.

How is it performing so far?

Our TuffTruks have been a nice surprise. We were confident there’d be a good fit for the DIY market, but mostly the demand has been in commercial use. It’s great when your business can offer a truly innovative product for hire, and the customer returns the equipment and tells you about their positive experience.

What is the average rental term?

Concreter’s will hire the unit usually for a day period. Landscapers are often multiple days and into weeks.

What makes the TuffTruk suitable for the hire industry?

The TuffTruk is an excellent example of hire-specific machine. It’s new, innovative, labour saving and with the battery powered model, environmentally friendly. For the hire company, there is very little maintenance, so service cost is low.

Who are the primary customers for the Flextool TuffTruk and what has been their feedback?

In the short period we’ve been hiring the TuffTruk, concretors, earthmovers and landscapers have been the most frequent users. First time users have been occasionally apprehensive but have always returned to us happy, as the unit often performs above their expectation and saves considerable labour, especially if their project has a slope to content with.

What other sectors could benefit from hiring a

TuffTruk? There is certainly immediate market demand from landscapers, concreters, earthmovers and the DIY sector. I believe once awareness grows, it will be a common product across every hire customer sector.

Would you recommend the Flextool TuffTruk to other

hire and rental companies? I’d certainly recommend the TuffTruk to hire and rental companies. It’s value as a laboursaving device means there will always be demand and it’s low maintenance makes it easy to keep the price structure right to get a decent return on the investment.

What else would you say about the Tufftruk?

The TuffTruk is designed and manufactured in the UK, and we've had a relationship with Flextool for many years, both of which gave me confidence to purchase a new and relatively untried product.