Plant Equipment and Hire August 2018 | Page 27

PRODUCT FOCUS “It’s been relatively slow since then,” he shares and points out that this sector makes up 5–10% of JCH’s work. “Solar also ramped up to a point and then slowed down,” he adds. Footprint and differentiators With a significant nationwide footprint, JCH also has a presence in Botswana, Mozambique, DRC, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, where the equipment is normally deployed on larger projects, requiring the bigger capacity cranes for heavier lifting. Bates says that Crane Link Zoomlion sells into southern African and also Zambia and DRC, while Van Staaden says, “We took a strategic decision to start out by acquiring certain businesses in order to obtain cranes at a premium, the associated client base, and the key expertise involved. Our business is essentially on wheels, and so this has meant an expanding footprint. This gives the group the flexibility to adapt quickly to both market fluctuations and changing client needs. “We have more cranes to fall back on in the event of a shortfall in any area. We select our crane stock with the aim to protect our margins, cover our costs, and not over-capitalise, and to service our clients’ needs in terms of offering total lifting solutions.” In such a diverse and competitive