A winning year for Porters

Whether you are buying or hiring equipment, chasing spare parts and transport machinery, or looking to finance capital equipment, chances are you are dealing with the Porter Group and what has become, over six decades, one of the country’s major equipment sales and service provider.

“The Porter Group has weathered the year remarkably well and the extreme effects of the market downturn have not been reflected in the downturn in our sales or machine hire,” says the sales and marketing manager for the Porter Group, Darren Ralph.

“Furthermore we have used the opportunity to make inroads into sectors of the market where previously we have not been as dominant.”

The Porter Group is the country’s largest supplier of new and used equipment through the avenues of equipment sales and rentals. Darren says the group has consistently held a clear

leadership position in both fields, boasting the number one sales of new wheel loaders and excavators for the past five years and now has the largest rental fleet in the Southern Hemisphere.

“Eagle Equipment, involved in sales, and Porter Hire, involved in rental, are backed up with unparalleled support in terms of parts availability and after sales support by the specialist divisions of Eagle Spares and Hi Tech Mechanical.” he says. Eagle Equipment customers also have access to a flexible finance facility through Narm Finance, he adds.

Porter Hire runs some of the largest excavators, shovels, dump trucks and wheel loaders in New Zealand. Darren says the group has an in-depth understanding of the country’s quarry operations.

“And this is the very reason why our company has become the preferred supplier to the industry with a product range that covers the full spectrum of equipment and services, and with an approach that fits the contemporary school of methodology associated with modern day quarry operations.”

The operational focus has moved to upstream cost structure, he says, which has placed continuous pressure on profit margins related to aggregates and capital equipment, he says.

“Our experience in managing our own rental machines in quarrying and mining industries qualifies us to provide a total solutions concept to our customers by understanding the demands and constraints of the business.”

The strength of the Porter Group and the partnerships it forms with quarry companies pays dividends for stakeholders by providing the lowest cost solutions to the often expensive machinery requirements,” he iterates.

“Eagle Equipment is focused on offering its customers tangible value in all facets of machine ownership and utilisation.”

Darren says the group’s “value proposition” ensures that it remains focused on the three key components that shape the overall ownership experience. These are cost of ownership, minimum down time and increased productivity.

“Eagle Equipment offers very competitive pricing on all Hyundai equipment which ensures less capital outlay and, therefore, more useable working capital for the operator. At the same time the resale or residual value of Hyundai is very comparable with other leading brands, resulting in a very positive and productive cost of ownership,” he says.

“I would also add that the low cost of our parts and maintenance all amount to the lowest overall ownership and operating cost available in this market.”

The durability of the Hyundai excavator combined with service support offered by Eagle Equipment, and its affiliates, makes for exceptional reliability and uptime, he says.

“Our highly trained technicians are located at 18 base centres around the country and are backed by our very comprehensive parts warehouse, offering over 90 percent availability of Hyundai parts.”

The productivity of the range cannot be disputed, he says, and the Hyundai excavator has proved its strength as a powerful and high-speed tool in the construction and forestry market, he says, and is rated highly in the quarry and mining industry.

“Hyundai excavator operators recognise the speed and power produced by the machine, which will rival any leading excavator brand in the market.”

It’s Eagle Equipment’s skillful ability to coordinate and combine these three key elements that has positioned the company as the leading supplier of excavators to the quarry and mining market for the past four years, says Darren.

“Our sustainability and growth in this field is testament to our in-depth understanding and experience of the market and the needs of our large and varied client base.”

While the market has been very depressed the group has weathered out a good year with milestones such as a recent preferred supplier agreement with a customer into forestry, and a preferred supplier agreement with Fulton Hogan on the hire side.

“Porter Hire will continue to grow its dominance in the industry,” Darren says with confidence.