03.08.2015

APS teams up with Aldercote

UK distributor APS has reached an agreement with UK manufacturer Aldercote to mount and distribute its new range of van mounted aerial work platforms.

Aldercote is owned by David and Paul Dillon - who previously owned van and trailer lift manufacturer Priestman Powered Access - and engineering director Marc Paish. The company hopes that the partnership with Aldercote will finally convert the manufacturer into a major player in the van mounted market sector - currently dominated by Versalift.

The appointment of APS follows its recent success with the Isoli 3.5 tonne truck mounted range – its first major venture into vehicle mounted platforms. The company is investing in new workshops and personnel at its base in Telford, Shropshire, to mount the Aldercote boom kits to vans including the Ford Transit and Iveco Daily.

The company’s sales and service staff are being fully trained on the Aldercote products in order to win a solid share of the market. The new range will be formally launched in October with a demonstrator fleet for its customers and a stock of the most popular van/platform combinations ready for immediate delivery.
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Aldercote will launch a new range of van mounted lifts in October with APS

Aldercote director David Dillon said: “We invested heavily in the design engineering of our new boom lifts, so we naturally wanted the best possible sales and support partner to ensure their success. APS has a great combination of experience, manpower and reputation for customer service, making them the ideal distributor. With these new products and the appointment of APS as our UK distributor, we are confident we can once again become a leading supplier to the utility and equipment rental sectors.”

Steve Couling managing director of IAPS group, which owns APS, added: “These van-mounted booms break new ground in performance and payload on 3.5 tonne GVW vans, thanks to innovative engineering. Additionally, Aldercote’s clever kit design enables us to quickly and efficiently mount these machines.”

Vertikal Comment

The marriage of Aldercote, which has been something of an ‘also ran’ in the UK van mounted market for many years, is significant enough and surely heralds a new brighter phase for the manufacturer, thanks the reputation of APS.

However the move is even more significant in that until relatively recently Steve Couling was managing director of Versalift, the van mounted market leader, a position he held for more than 10 years, during which time the company steadily increased its share of the market, leaving very little business for others to pick up. Versalift will of course not simply hand over a chuck of its hard won business, and many buyers will think twice about changing – even with APS/IPS behind the new products.

Hopefully a new strong player will expand the market, but either way you can be sure that in terms of market share the new partnership is likely to do well, especially if the products are half as good as Couling claims.