Bobcat Equipment South Africa has appointed Siviwe Gushu as National Rental Manager with effect from mid-March. The appointment is an important part of Bobcat’s commitment to cater for the requirements of essential-service clients during the national lockdown. This includes coal-mining clients supplying electricity utility Eskom and clients in the food-and-beverage industry.

Gushu commenced his career with Bobcat as Operations Assistant in September 2019. He played a pivotal role in the recent successful project which saw Goscor Earthmoving, Goscor Power Products and Bobcat co-locate to new premises in Boksburg.

While business has plateaued due to the national lockdown, Bobcat has ensured that a sufficient stock of rental machines is available during the current crisis. Its extensive rental fleet includes a range of skidsteers, TLBs, telescopic handlers and some excavators.

“Our service department is up-and-running on a skeleton basis, so we are able to attend to any breakdowns. In the event that a breakdown is extensive and requires a machine to be returned to our workshop, we do have standby units that can be swopped out so that the necessary repairs can be carried out.

“In so doing, we ensure we abide with all the lockdown regulations and stipulations at all times, including critical factors such as quarantine rules, social distancing and hygiene,” Gushu highlights. He anticipates a significant increase in demand post-lockdown.

“Customers will increasingly look to rental as a solution for business continuity, as opposed to buying new equipment.” In this regard, Bobcat has standardised its operating procedures on a national basis for its rental division.

The head office is in Johannesburg, with rental branches in Cape Town and Ellisras. Gushu states that his first aim in his new role will be to standardise operations even further across all three branches for increased efficiency, flexibility and cost-effectiveness. “This means everything will be unified and all operating the same, no matter which branch,” he concludes.