Barloworld Handling has invested £6Million in 340 new Hyster forklifts for its short term hire fleet. This is in addition to over £4Million spent in 2007 on replacements and fleet range extensions designed to give its customers access to the latest equipment at short notice.

Barloworld, who operates one of the largest rental fleets in the UK of around 2,500 trucks, has seen growing demand from storage, logistics and freight handling customers looking to supplement their core forklift fleets with additional units at peak times. "Many of our customers make significant savings by running smaller core fleets and pulling in extra units during periods of seasonal demand" says Mark Ward, UK Commercial Asset Manager at Barloworld.

This significant continuous investment by Barloworld in its fleet will help businesses maintain efficiency and flexibility the whole year round as availability of specialist equipment and reliability is improved. Barloworld's strategy of reducing the age profile of its fleet means customers can gain greater access to modern productive machinery without tying themselves into a long term contract.

Barloworld offers one of the most extensive short term rental fleets in the market including high capacity 7, 12 and 18ton Hyster big trucks for port operations and heavy industry. Its range of electric warehouse equipment includes pallet trucks, low level order pickers and high level reach trucks for logistics and warehousing operations. The company also stocks an extensive range of specialist equipment such as high level order pickers, 4 way reach trucks and ATEX compliant 'Pyroban' protected equipment.

Barloworld believes the condition and profile of its fleet is a key reason why it continues to stand out in this segment. "When you consider the complete range of equipment we now stock, including our compact range of 5.5 and 7 ton units, we can genuinely boast to be the most complete provider of equipment in this sector." claims Mark Ward "Much of the more specialist types of equipment such as big trucks are often unavailable elsewhere or in poor condition".

With 18 regional short term centres in the UK, each with a fleet tailored to the needs of local industry, Barloworld offers a total solution to customers whether they require equipment on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Barloworld expects to see seasonal growth this time of year as manufacturers who supply the retail trade gear up production ready for the Christmas period. The company also offers advice and a next delivery service enabling companies to react to an emergency or unforeseen demand.

All rental trucks supplied by Barloworld are LOLER* certified and maintained by its team of local technicians, who can respond quickly in the event of breakdown. Companies requiring short term hire equipment should contact Barloworld Handling. Call 0800 137 449 free, or visit www.barloworld.co.uk for more details.