With a strong relationship already in place, Access Service Australia had no hesitation in offering Merlo products to its Australian customers.
Access Service Australia specialises in the service, repair and sales of elevating work platforms (EWPs), both truck-mounted and self-propelled. With fully equipped workshops and on-site technicians in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, and a fleet of service vehicles, the company’s reach stretches deep into regional areas, providing assistance to owners and hire companies looking to keep their machines safely working.
While specialising in EWPs, Access Service also extends its expertise to telehandlers, crane borers, site vans and light towers, working with customers to maintain equipment in accordance with Standards Australia, manufacturer requirements and code of practice and member associations.
The company also offers new equipment for sale, and one of the big names in the Access Service catalogue is Merlo.
Why Merlo?
“Merlo was looking to penetrate a part of the market where we were strong with our relationships,” said Company Director Paul Sharples. “We knew the product. We knew the people. We knew the company. We’d even visited the factory in Italy. We didn’t have to ask, ‘Is it a good product?’ and ‘What’s Merlo’s support like?’, smiled the NSW-based Sharples. “And the opportunity came up at a time when Access Services had made a conscious decision to get more heavily involved in equipment sales.
“One thing led to another and it just came together.”
Although telehandlers are clearly a bigticket item for Merlo, and Access Services offers a good range, the Cingo tracked loaders more than carry their weight.
Connection
Access Service’s relationship with big hire companies gave a good opportunity to help reinforce the uptake of Cingo loaders, and the versatility of the machines made them a standout.
“We saw some synergies between the customers we deal with – the tier-one hire companies that deal with the landscapers and the guys doing that sort of work,” offered Business Development Manager, Michael Moon. “The bloke with the ute who hires a dumper from Kennards or one of the big hire companies, that machine gets maintained by ASA. There’s a dotted line between the landscaper and Access Service.”
Established
Convincing the Australian public to accept Cingo hasn’t been as difficult as it may otherwise have been, and Paul Sharples is quite firm on the reason why.
“Having the Merlo brand on there helps.
“A lot of the other products in the market are obscure brands people may not have heard of before. With Merlo, we only had to sell the dumper on its specifications. The name speaks for itself.”
“Paul’s, right,” offered Michael. “Merlo’s a strong brand, and the Cingos are a very versatile machine,” he continued. “You can have more than one attachment. There’s a 500kg to a 1200kg range, and the beauty of that is, for a lot of landscapers, instead of having numerous machines which aren’t used a lot of the time – and are a high cost to the business – they can have one Cingo carrier which can have a dumper, a set of tines, a hook, a self-loading bucket, a four-in-one bucket, a self-loading concrete mixer, augers…they all fit on. They’re interchangeable. And what that does, especially for the mum-and-dad business, is reduces the outgoings. They can buy the base machine and then start adding those different items.”
Once Mike started talking about the Cingo his enthusiasm shone through.
“The gradability with the track is really good, and it’s a tight-access machine. A lot of landscaping is done in residentials, areas where it’s tight to get it in and out. A Cingo can be a big help there.
“After-sales service is spectacular,” he grinned, “because we’re the after-sales service agent. They come in diesel, petrol and electric. At the moment everyone’s going green, and that green thumbprint is good. A lot of people are more aware of their carbon footprint these days.”
Decision made
Taking on the Merlo brand and its Cingo dumpers was a good decision for the management of Access Service. If you need a durable, well-built and reliable tight-access loader to move materials and be available for a host of other landscaping tasks, taking on a Cingo could be a good decision for you, too.
Find out more about Cingo and Merlo at merlo.com.
