Preventative Maintenance of Rental Equipment in Mobile, Alabama

Recently opening a branch in Mobile, Alabama, Altrad Sparrows is spreading its wings in the US equipment rental market.

Situated at the intersections of major interstates, our new Mobile branch is close to the region’s docks, the Mobile River and Mobile Bay, providing a strategic location for coastal and offshore work as well as delivering our services to major equipment rental companies in South-Eastern states.

Starting with just one person in February 2022, the Mobile team now employs five mechanics and plans to onboard more staff members in the coming months. With first-hand experience from previous roles within the rentals industry, the Mobile team is well versed in the language and priorities of equipment rental businesses. We have the expertise, access to parts, and the knowledge to find parts where clients may otherwise struggle.

Cranes are often part of our workscope when working with equipment rental companies. With cranes being a significant part of Altrad Sparrows’ DNA, our NCCCO-certified crane operators bring extensive experience in this area, having worked on and operated various types of cranes for decades.

Sunbelt Rentals Preventative Maintenance and Repairs

Sunbelt Rentals is a key player in the plant hire rental industry with locations all over the US and an inventory of over 550,000 pieces of equipment and tools. Having been a vendor of Altrad Sparrows for several years, a great working relationship already existed between our staff and their sales/service team.

Though Sunbelt Rentals carries out some of its maintenance and repairs, we were brought in to look at jobs with tighter time constraints, were more complex, or required parts that were difficult to acquire. This covers mechanical, hydraulic and electrical equipment maintenance, including significant hose repairs, engine and machine preventive maintenance services, and any other in-depth service issues.

Initially working on some of their smaller cranes and forklifts, our workscope has since expanded to include more aerial work around their platforms and more complex repairs on larger cranes. We have also removed and rebuilt multiple cylinders, repaired crane load moment systems, re-hosed a crane, and replaced boom chains in a telehandler.

With a focus on preventative maintenance, we ensure that Sunbelt Rentals stays ahead of the curve to ensure that all their rental equipment performs to the highest standards and is safe for their clients to operate.

Beyond repairs and maintenance, Sunbelt Rentals also tasked us with recreating a crane-related accident they’d experienced several years ago. Taking place in their yard with a crane operator and rigger, this re-creation helped the client to identify factors that contributed to the accident so they can take the necessary preventative measures to avoid it happening again.

The work we carry out for Sunbelt Rentals is completed chiefly in-house at our Mobile shop. However, we work with trusted partners to undertake any work we currently do not have the capacity for. This has included working with a local company to construct hydraulic hoses and collaborating with another industry professional who has already been working on repairs for Sunbelt Rentals for several years.

Safety and Communication

Ensuring safety on each one of Sunbelt Rentals’ repair jobs is a priority, especially while working on cranes. From ensuring there’s no chance of cranes dropping a load to checking that seat belts are in good working order, we consider every detail and never become complacent with our safety checks.

During weekly safety meetings, we ensure all cranes comply with the appropriate standards, and because of our ISO certification for working offshore, we bring a more meticulous approach from our cross-industry experience.

Time Constraints and Prioritizing Repairs

Our team of tenured mechanics appreciate the tight timelines of rental companies. Knowing what should be prioritized, we help ensure they continue to fulfill orders and offer their clients a wide inventory choice.

We also bring our extensive knowledge of the inspection process. By knowing precisely what will be assessed, we can make sure all necessary preventative maintenance has been completed and that the equipment or tool in question is ready to be inspected and subsequently rented out.

As the Mobile shop is relatively new, the sheer volume of equipment from Sunbelt Rentals initially presented a challenge in terms of space. However, with our shop’s sizable yard and our knowledge of what should be prioritized, we ensure that a steady stream of repairs and parts are coming in to utilize the space efficiently and meet client requirements.

We can also work with rental equipment clients to speed up the repair process to minimize downtime. This may involve advising them on which parts to order so they can have them overnighted and ready for us ahead of the work commencing.

Future Work with Sunbelt Rentals

The feedback from Sunbelt Rentals so far has been incredibly positive. The client has been impressed by our capacity to turn around repair and maintenance jobs in short time frames, allowing them to keep renting out as much equipment as possible and satisfy any emergency rental requirements.

We began our work with Sunbelt Rentals through their branch in Theodore, Alabama. Since then, this has increased to providing services for other branches within the region, and we hope that we can bring our skills and experience to even more areas.

Our talented mechanics can apply their expertise to various repair and maintenance jobs, and we’re thrilled to be bringing our services to the rental equipment industry in some of the largest industrial towns in the US.

Learn more about our maintenance services or contact us for more information.