Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/134956
Lift with a Twist Rental dynamo Trico Lift takes customer service to a whole new level with the hiring of 20 new mechanics. By Joanne Costin Trico Lift's road service technicians are regularly dispatched to jobsites, plants and other locations to perform emergency repairs and routine maintenance on customer-owned equipment. Trico is willing to invest in hiring less experienced mechanics and provide them with additional training and tooling. Newly appointed CEO and president of Trico Lift Chris Carmolingo inherited a well-defined niche for the company, and he's not giving up on it anytime soon. "We're lift specialists and we've always been a full-service aerial lift provider," said Carmolingo, who recently replaced retiring president, Ken Pustizzi, who co-founded the company in 1952. Carmolingo is an 18-year veteran of Trico Lift, which has eight locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Texas. The company is about one thing and one thing only: aerial work. Boom lifts, scissor lifts, rough-terrain forklifts, vertical mast lifts and atrium lifts round out the company's offerings. According to Carmolingo, historically there were many more companies pursuing this niche in the 1980s Substantial repairs to customer-owned aerial lifts, such as boom inspections and engine overhauls, are handled regularly at Trico Lift's facilities. Here at the company's New Jersey-based Fleet Maintenance Center, multiple functions are performed, including major contracted work such as paint services and complete equipment rebuilds. and 1990s, but through mergers and acquisitions, – and competitors adding equipment lines – few true lift specialists remain today. Doing one thing and doing it well has paid off for Trico Lift. According to Carmolingo, every year since 2008 the company has seen double digit growth in revenue. This year Trico Lift will surface on RER's Top 100 Rental Fleets list ranked No. 45, with $42.3 million in rental volume, up from No. 53 and $30 million just two years ago. While rental remains the primary revenue stream for the company, Carmolingo says that since 2009, Trico has increased percentages each year in parts, service and training. Having once represented Case Construction Equipment, Trico Equipment, Inc., which now does business as Trico Lift, is a company that has always known parts and service – but according to Carmolingo, it's somewhat unusual for a rental company to focus on this aspect of the business. Despite growing service revenues, Carmolingo says it's not revenue that drove a recent decision to expand the company's service capabilities. "The real reason is to make sure we are offering our customers what they need and that we are not just focused on renting equipment." He explains why it is difficult for traditional rental companies to focus on service. "When you own a thousand pieces of equipment and rent to your end user, it's a very difficult situation to stop that train for the rental business and tend to someone else's equipment. There's an inherent conflict," explained Carmolingo. Nevertheless, determined to avoid that scenario and serve customers by excelling in both rental and equipment service, Trico Lift has grown its service infrastructure. They have added more than 20 service technicians (a 30 percent increase) in a concentrated effort to expand the company's (continued on page 38) 36 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | June 2013 36_Trico_Feature_KP.indd 36 5/31/13 12:58 PM