Christophe Casanova, 35, is an entrepreneur by nature. After creating a multi-service car center in Corte, he took over a bankrupt equipment rental and sales company. Ten years later, Euromat is a successful company with 60 employees and 4 agencies in Haute-Corse (Corte, Bastia, Calvi and Ghisonaccia).
Among its range of machines and construction equipment, there are many Haulotte machines…
How did you start working with Haulotte?
When we started this project, we had to build up our fleet by buying second-hand Haulotte articulating booms (HA16 RTJ PROs). They were all coming from the continent. We were seduced by their robustness, reliability and ease of use. At some point, we got in touch with Haulotte’s local sales representative, and we bought brand new machines from him, such as Star10 vertical masts and the brand’s articulated boom lifts.
Every year, we replace some parts of the fleet with new ones! Today we have about twenty Haulotte articulating booms, representing 10% of our fleet product-wise and 100% of our articulating booms.
It is a real partnership made of common trust. We appreciate Haulotte’s customer service responsiveness and the relationship we have with Haulotte’s area sales manager.
What are the specificities of the market in Corsica?
We are renting our booms to the professionals of the construction sector. Our clients are shed builders, barge operators, electricians, tree pruners, facade builders, etc. When companies from France mainland come to work in Corsica, they would rather rent equipment than bring it by boat. We therefore offer different models: small indoor machines, electric articulating booms, telescopic handlers, scissor lifts… the 16-to-20-meter models are the most popular.
Have you observed an increase in the demand for electrical machines?
For indoor machines, the demand has evolved considerably. The same statement doesn’t apply to outdoor applications where electric booms are not yet requested, but it is only a question of time and market education! We know that there will eventually be more electric than thermal booms. For the moment, electric machines are still a bit of a no-go for rental companies. Customers must recharge the batteries regularly, and the machines can be damaged quickly if they are not properly maintained.
How would you explain the success of your company?
What has made us grow, I think, is having new equipment. This allows us to limit breakdowns and to offer reliable equipment to our customers. With our 4 agencies in Haute-Corse, we are also offering delivery services which allow us to intervene quickly.
It has to be noted that Corsica is a small market, with only 300,000 inhabitants, but the rental equipment market is growing. We are in a competitive sector with several local rental companies and one national rental company.
How would you imagine the boom lifts of the future?
I can’t tell you what the boom lifts of the future would look like. When it comes to Haulotte range, I would say that there is a lack of specific booms, such as spider booms or crawler booms.
It’s a niche market, but we are forced to get in touch with other brands for these products in particular to meet the demand.