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Toyota forklifts preferred by Coates Hire

One of the nation’s largest rental companies, Coates Hire, has adopted Toyota Material Handling (TMHA) forklifts as its majority brand, with over 600 being in its fleet, nationally.

Thirty-year Coates Hire company veteran, Executive General Manager – Fleet, Peter Davis, says TMHA’s history with Coates Hire stems back nearly 20 years and has significantly ramped-up in the last decade.

“We’ve been dealing with Toyota Material Handling for a long, long time – close to 20 years, on and off. In the last 10 years, especially, Toyota has made up the majority of our industrial forklift fleet,” Peter says.

He says the shift came after the business adopted more stringent procurement methodologies. “We’ve always known Toyotas to be a good, solid product, that’s why we’ve had them in our fleet for so long, but more recently we have become stringent in how we procure our equipment. It’s important for us to be in front of the technology and safety curves because for us a forklift is typically a 10-year investment.

TMHA President and CEO, Steve Takacs, says the relationship with Coates Hire has been helped by both businesses having an acute understanding of hiring models. “Having similarities in our business models helps us better understand each other, so we can accurately assist with their goals and provide the best product solutions,” Steve says.

“One of the key things we understand about their business is the emphasis they place on reducing total cost of ownership – which is a major tenet of the Toyota Advantage.

“The nature of their business is to focus acutely on numbers. Like any rental business, they’re in it to make money and if they can get a product on board that gives them less down-time they’re going to make more money. They’re also going to have more customer satisfaction.”

Peter says Coates Hire primarily rents Toyota forklifts out to customers in heavy industry, meaning its equipment must be up to the task. “‘We’re not small handyman hire. We primarily supply to the construction and mining industries where equipment gets a hard life compared to, say, a warehouse. So it’s paramount that our forklifts are tough and last the distance. That’s why quality, durability and reliability are so important to us.

“The Toyota product is market-leading in that regard, which makes it great for our total cost of ownership.”

Steve says he is proud to see Coates representing TMHA forklifts to its customers. “I take quite a bit of pride when I see one of our forklifts with a Coates sticker on it doing the business on a building site.

“Their customer is at arm’s length to us. Both of our companies are blue chip and our reputations are of the utmost importance. Having both of our brands together sends a message and helps build confidence amongst customers. They know they’re renting a reputable piece of equipment from a reputable company.

 

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