The Loxam Group continues to grow and reinforces its leadership

The plant and equipment rental market in europ on an upward trend

Growth forecasts for the building and public works sector in Europe in 2019 and 2020 remain positive on a backdrop of a slowdown in economic activity.

It can however be observed that construction cycles vary by country. In the United Kingdom for instance, following the slump in 2018 caused by a fall-off in the non-residential sector, the building industry is due to return to growth. In the Netherlands and Spain, the construction sector is set to decline slightly in 2019-2020 following a peak in 2018. In Italy, the industry will likely consolidate its growth over the 2019-2020 period, despite the recession anticipated by the OECD. In France, housing has clouded the outlook for 2019, whereas the non-residential market and civil engineering remain buoyant.

For 2019, the equipment rental market displays solid growth in Europe, outstripping those of the building industry and GDP. This trend can be explained by plant hire improving its penetration rate in certain countries which are coming to adopt European standards. All the rental markets on which LOXAM is established in Europe thus display positive outlooks for 2019, with average growth estimated by the European Rental Association at 3.4%.

2018, an excellent year for LOXAM, featuring Group-level consolidation

An international Group established in 22 countries, the European leader and world number 5 for plant and equipment rental, LOXAM boasts more than 250,000 customers, a fleet of 350,000 machines, a network of 760 branches formed by business creation or acquisition, and 7,900 employees.

For 2018, the LOXAM Group reports consolidated revenue of 1.5 billion, up 8% compared with 2017. With 4% owing to organic growth and the same percentage to external growth, turnover breaks down as follows:

  • 60% of sales in France including 45% at LOXAM RENTAL, the generalist brand for all equipment, and 15 % in the six specialist divisions: LOXAM ACCESS (work at height), LOXAM POWER (power supply), LOXAM MODULE (modular constructions), LOXAM TP (public works), LOXAM EVENT (event logistics), LOXAM LAHO TEC (powered access systems).

Outside France in 2018, the Group expanded its footprint and consolidated its activities. The acquisition of the powered access rental firm Nove reinforced its leading position on this market in Italy. LOXAM also consolidated its leadership in the United Kingdom with the acquisition of UK Platforms, a specialist in powered access rental. The Group now offers professionals the world’s third largest fleet of powered access machinery.

  • 40 % of sales outside France, of which 33% in Europe and 7% in the rest of the world.

 

New ranges of hybrid energy equipment to respond to the energy transition

r the past few years, LOXAM has observed its clients’ demands evolving towards equipment that causes less environmental impact and disturbance.

The aim is to address the issues of the energy transition, building sites in urban or confined environments, lower the carbon footprint and reduce noise pollution, whilst also enhancing user health and safety. With care for the environment an increasingly frequent issue on worksites, particularly in large cities, LOXAM now hires out a new generation of plant and equipment operating on hybrid energy, electricity, gas, dual fuel or battery.

In 2018, nearly 25% of LOXAM’s investment went into these new equipment ranges, which today account for a constantly rising proportion of its equipment offering:

  • 70% of “small” equipment and tools,
  • 40% of powered access equipment,
  • 10% of the Gardening and Landscaping equipment range.

Safety at the heart of LOXAM’s concerns

The teams at LOXAM are capable of working with the same discipline and the same quality on all customer sites, because safety is a fundamental value underpinned by a strong methodology, applied by all of its network.

The Group’s employees thus share a culture of co-responsibility in terms of accident prevention and safety, which are considered to be a matter for everyone: managers, employees, partner companies and all its clients.

In 2018, the LOXAM Group launched the first editions of two large-scale events

The Safety Meetings for LOXAM clients and partners The first edition of these Safety Meetings brought together around 50 guests, Managing Directors, Prevention/HSE directors, Equipment directors and Purchasing managers. Initiated in partnership with the accident prevention organisation OPPBTP, these Safety Meetings offered LOXAM teams a chance to exchange with their clients, major groups from construction and industry, in a three-part format: a talk, workshops and exchanges of best practice.

The LOXAM Group Safety Challenge To promote, publicise and share best practices in safety, a Challenge was organised among the Group’s 7,900 employees around the world

Projects were shortlisted according to two criteria: the objective of improving safety and the innovative nature of the solutions proposed.

The LOXAM Safety Challenge met with an enthusiastic welcome inside the company, with 272 innovative projects entered, 36 of them shortlisted and 28 awarded with a trophy, including one Chairman’s Award which was made and presented by Mr. Gérard Déprez, Chairman and CEO of the Group.

 

Accelerating the digital transformation for better customer service

Since the end of 2017, nearly 1,000 clients use the MyLOXAM service every day.

Because every client company, whatever its size and sector of activity, wishes to have an online service accessible 24/7, the MyLOXAM portal helps them consult and manage their hire contracts independently and efficiently on a computer, smartphone or tablet. Whether to obtain a quote, book piece of equipment, find the closest branch to their building site or consult their dashboard, every client can find their sales conditions and data in a secure personal account.

In addition, LOXAM customers benefit from paperless invoicing, simplifying and securing their transmission and generating productivity gains and savings on filing costs. As an illustration, the volume of paperless invoices issued by LOXAM in France doubled in 2018 and today represents 35% of the total volume of invoices. This solution is operational in France and in all the Group’s European subsidiaries.

From preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance

The quality of equipment is one of the leading selection criteria for clients. On each of its contracts, LOXAM invests a lot of energy in the maintenance of its equipment to ensure the best possible quality, with the aim of providing equipment that is safe, reliable and operational.

Predictive maintenance operations (systematic inspections on equipment handover and return, regular services, preventive maintenance inspections, etc.) have been optimised for many years, and are carried out in great number in each LOXAM branch, resulting in the fleet achieving a 98% technical availability rate.

Technical progress has spurred the group into adopting and implementing more sophisticated, often electronic diagnostics tools. These are either affixed to the equipment or installed on tablets. LOXAM invests thousands of hours in training its technical staff. In parallel, the group deploys its mobility tools (LoxCheck, LoxFix) to achieve maximal team efficiency and productivity.

As a consequence, the volume of data collected on equipment is increasing and will continue to rise exponentially with the widespread adoption of Internet of Things. LOXAM has attached more than 200,000 NFC tags to its equipment, connecting them to its information system. Through this initiative, the Group is preparing to share all the useful information relating to this equipment with its customers through the MyLOXAM portal.

Among this information, the geographic location, activity and workload for electric equipment are already fed back to the database. By investing in new data science skills and by developing know-how in the modelling and analysis of this data, LOXAM is advancing day after day towards a more predictive form of maintenance management.

CSR: acting for social cohesion and a sustainable future

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an integral part of the strategy of LOXAM which for many years has proactively incorporated social and environmental concerns into company activity.

LOXAM is the first and only plant and equipment rental firm in the world to have attained maturity level 3 in the standard ISO 26000.

This CSR approach is formulated in a collaborative approach. In 2018, more than 30,000 LOXAM stakeholders (customers, suppliers, employees, etc.) took part in a materiality survey, the cornerstone of the group’s action plan for the next three years with regard to CSR.

In addition, 8,000 employees responded to an employee survey conducted by an external body, Great Place to Work, to gauge the social atmosphere in the group.

In the employment chapter of CSR, three commitments of the firm were validated by the stakeholders surveyed:

  • Managing diversity,
  • Health, Safety and Quality of Life at Work,
  • Development of Human Capital.

A few figures to illustrate these three issues

Diversity

  • In 2018, 40 nationalities among French employees (+12 nationalities versus 2015).
  • 900 women employed in France (a 35 % increase, compared to an 8% increase in the total workforce since 2015).
  • 325 young people under 25 (a 70% increase, compared to an 8% increase in the total workforce since 2015).

Safety and Quality of Life at work

  • The Accident Frequency rate, in the space of a year (from 2017 to 2018) dropped from 33 to 26.8 (a decline of nearly 20%)

Development of Human Capital

  • 500 new hires on permanent contracts per year for the last three years (LOXAM is one of the Top 100 employers in France).
  • 95% of LOXAM employees have a permanent employment contract.
  • 50,000 hours of training delivered per year for the past three years

 

Finally, LOXAM is a major supplier of local jobs. In 2018 and for the first time, the firm worked with employment bodies (French jobseeker centre, regional training centres and bodies) to help people who were out of work or early school leavers to join the company and receive vocational training with a view to offering them a permanent work contract.

About the LOXAM Group

N° 1 in Europe and n° 5 in the world, LOXAM is the market leader in the rental of equipment and tools for building and public works, industry, landscaping and services. With sales of €1.5 billion in 2018, 760 branches and 7,900 employees, the Group is established in 13 countries in Europe (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom), the Middle East, Morocco, Brazil and Colombia. LOXAM has the largest machine fleet in Europe, with more than 350,000 items of equipment to anticipate, support and fulfil the growing demand from companies that wish to outsource the procurement, management and maintenance of their equipment.

More information: www.loxam.com

 

Press contact

Virginie Adam: +33 1 41 38 95 20 – virginie.adam@salesfactorypr.fr

Dominique Flam: +33 1 41 38 95 21 – dominique.flam@salesfactorypr.fr

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