Goscor Access Rental is the preferred supplier of access rental equipment to assist with various materials handling requirements during the construction of Mr. Price’s new national Distribution Centre in Keystone Park, Hammersdale, Kwa-Zulu Natal. The rental company also solved the problem that has plagued the MEWP (Mobile Elevated Work Platform) industry for years with an ingenious in-house designed bracket for the safe and efficient lifting of piping.

Goscor Access Rental Durban has secured a two year rental equipment supply contract and with 22 rental machines operating on the Stefanutti Stocks / Mr. Price site, the company is extremely proud of being part of this prestigious project.

“Understanding the magnitude of the site, we knew that the project would be too large to manage remotely so we established a site office to ensure top notch service throughout the two year construction period,” states Goscor Access Rental Durban’s Branch Manager, Shirly Smit. We appointed our technical sales expert, Michael Spoelstra, as the Site Agent for Goscor Access Rental. He responsibilities inlcude managing machines on site, client liaison, site inspections, quotes, health & safety, machine deliveries, accounts, payments, operator training,  breakdowns, etc.”

Spoelstra has been actively involved on site over the past six months dealing with multiple sectors of the construction industry. He describes the Stefanutti Stocks / Mr. Price site as “a master piece that is being put together piece by piece by the best in the business.” Mr. Price elected to build their 68 000sqm DC in Keystone Park which is one of Durban’s largest industrial developments, covering some 1 000 000sqm. The Stefanutti Stocks / Mr. Price site has already been the recipient of two awards, an MBA (Master Builders Association) Regional Award as well as a Stefanutti Stocks Group Award 2015.

The range of rental machines that have been operating onsite include a variety of Genie diesel boom lifts including the 22m and 27m straight boom and 15m to 25m articulated boom lifts as well as the Genie SX150 super boom lift that has a remarkable reach of 48m. Goscor Access Rental also supplied Genie diesel and electric scissor lifts. Despite some adverse weather conditions, Spoelstra says that the Genie access equipment is proving itself to be the robust and reliable quality brand that it has become known for, pushing on through severe wind, pouring rain and blistering heat. “With over 22 of our rental machines onsite and counting, we have kept all clients working at full speed ahead with little down time and when a breakdown has occurred, the situation was resolved immediately. We are conducting daily operations with the mind set of pushing the boundaries and going the extra mile to provide our clients with first class service.” Spoelstra adds that Goscor Access Rental worked round-the-clock throughout December 2015 to ensure that they were always on hand to meet the client’s lifting requirements.

Stefanutti Stocks is one of South Africa’s blue-chip construction groups and is well known for their stringent health & safety regulations and Spoelstra says that their access rental machines are constantly under the spot light during this high profile build. “When the project commenced on 19th June 2015, we faced the challenge of lifting piping and steel safely and effectively onsite. A Fire Protection Systems contractor was using our access rental equipment to lift their fire protection piping, ranger and hydrant pipes, mains, braces and brackets. The resident Stefanutti Stocks Health & Safety Officer, Gabriel Chetty, raised concern about the risk factor involved in lifting loose ranger and mains fire piping which carry a weight of 80kg in a basket to heights of 25m.”

Spoelstra came up with a solution in one week. His idea was to engineer steel brackets, which he aptly named ‘Ranger Brackets’, to brace the ranger pipes so that lifting would be carried out in a safe and productive manner at very low risk. The brackets met all the necessary safety requirements and were fitted to the basket. Spoelstra reports that with the Ranger Brackets in place, the piping was lifted efficiently and safely without any interruptions, the high risk factor in the Mr. Price site was eliminated and costly downtime was avoided. The speedy and innovative design of the Ranger Brackets bears testament to Goscor Access Rental’s endeavours to provide service excellence as well as outstanding custom relations.

“This simple yet effective bracket has also sparked major interest amongst clients in the industry,” states Spoelstra who confirms that Goscor Access Rental Cape Town has placed orders for Ranger Bracket sets. “This bracket can undoubtedly be used throughout the fire installation industry as a tool to ensure preventative measures whilst lifting pipes in MEWP applications.”

In conclusion, Spoelstra says that the Mr. Price Site is a huge success, not only in terms of the numerous rental machines operating reliably on site but also the solid and professional relationship that has been established between Stefanutti Stocks and Goscor Access Rental Durban.

With a 500 + work force, the expected completion date for the first stage of the construction of the Mr. Price DC which is valued at approximately R450 million is 31 July 2016. The second stage which will run for an additional 12 months will comprise of mechanical fitment of racking shelving and state of the art mechanised stock control and stock picking systems to the value of some R500 million.  /Ends