LTECH celebrates five years of rapid growth and still growing

Russian access rental company LTECH has just celebrated five years in the business and it plans to keep growing.

From small beginnings of three staff and three Haulotte aerial platforms, now LTECH has a fleet of over 1500 units with 400 different models operating all over the country.

In 2009, despite the financial crisis, LTEC intends to grow its fleet by 600-800 machines. Boom lifts will account for 60% of the new equipment, 20% will be telehandlers and 20% will be other types of machines. "In the beginning of 2009," LTECH told Access International, "We will receive our first truck mounted hydraulic lift Wumag WT 530 with 53 m working height."

The distribution of new equipment is in response to the changing demands of the Russian market. "At first," the company said, "the most popular machines were scissor lifts. But now boom lifts and telehandlers are in most demand by Russian customers."

The Russian market is developing quickly, founders and managers of the company, Mikhail and Dimitry Malvinsky, said "Even professionals in our country had no idea of not only self propelled access equipment's capabilities but of its mere existence, when we were just beginning."

Today LTECH reports that access equipment in Russia is most frequently used in building but new growth areas are plants, stadiums and cultural centres which use lifting equipment for tasks such as maintenance and service.

Among LTECH's current customers are the Moscow Government, a Toyota plant, Pepsi and the MIRAX group as well as Gazprom, Severstal, TNK-BP and Aeroflot.

Two years ago LTECH started an expansion programme and now has branches in St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod and in 2008 entered the South Federal district. LTECH has further plans for branches in CIS - Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Turkey is also included in the expansion plans and LTECH anticipates opening these new branches in the second part of 2009.