HIRE
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH,
JOIN AN ASSOCIATION
Membership to a professional association like the CPHA shouldn’t be seen as a grudge or
impediment, writes Leon Louw.
B
eing a member of a professional
association should be regarded as
a benefit rather than a hindrance to
business ventures when times are tough.
When economies limp and companies start
looking at their balance sheets, membership
to associations are usually one of the first
costs in the firing line. “This shouldn’t be
the case,” says Clive Wicks, CEO of the
Contractors Plant Hire Association (CPHA).
“It is precisely during these challenging
times that associations like the CPHA
have the biggest impact and can assist
entrepreneurs new to the business of
plant hire, in negotiating the turbulent
waters,” says Wicks.
Guidance and membership
With the entire South African economy
in a transformation and rebuilding phase,
new and inexperienced contractors and
rental companies are entering the fray,
which is great for the future of the sector,
but could also result in disarray and
dysfunction. Therefore, the importance of
belonging to some sort of association or
professional body to give the necessary
guidance and assistance, cannot be
overemphasised.
Besides becoming part of a large
network of already established companies
and Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs), there are many functions that an
association performs for entrepreneurs,
that are also typically considered time
consuming for individual businesses to
tackle by themselves.
Moreover, the association assists
not only new entrants, but also older,
established companies in becoming
sustainable operations in the long-term
despite negative perceptions about the
economy. Customers using members
of an association should take comfort
in the fact that members have signed
both a Code of Conduct as well as a
Code of Ethics which gives them the
right to engage with the association if
it is proved that these pledges have not
been upheld.
The CPHA represents a number
of interests, ranging from insurance
companies, financiers, to training providers
and different sectors of the plant and
Being a member of the CPHA holds many benefits for new entrants into the
rental market.
28
MARCH 2020
The CPHA represents
a number of interests,
ranging from
insurance companies,
financiers, to training
providers and different
sectors of the plant
and equipment hire
community. ”
equipment hire community. Throughout
the many years of representing different
entities, it has built up a substantial list
of contacts in both the private sector and
government departments.
Being a member of an association
means that the combined voice of
individual companies has a much stronger
resonance when lobbying government
or disagreeing with certain policies they
feel will be to the detriment of their
establishment or the sector in general.
Training top of mind
Nonetheless, the issue that lies closest to
Wicks’ heart is that of training operators,
and he has been a proponent of good
quality certified training and a standard
qualifications system for operators for
many years. “When entrepreneurs
start a company, he or she identifies a
certain sector in which they would like to
operate. They acquire machinery and then
contract operators. The biggest risks to
that company at these early stages is that
their operators are not properly trained
or possibly attained their qualifications at
dubious institutions that are not accredited
by the authorities.
Unfortunately, this happens in other
industries as well, and it is something we
should really work on to find a solution for.
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