Interface

Spring 2023 07 www.hae.org.uk www.eha.org.uk NEW ‘VAN STOCK’ FEATURE TRANSFORMS PARTS VISIBILITY Rental Software Supplier, MCS, has developed a new feature allowing hire companies to keep track of stock availability and quantities held in vans and ensure drivers are well- equipped with all the tools and parts required for their jobs. MCS Sales Director, Nick Thomson, said: “Knowing what stock and parts are available has long been a challenge for rental companies, because once the parts have left the depot inventory, they were essentially marked as ‘used.’ Having the new ability to keep track of van stock, as though the van itself is a depot, means rental companies can set minimum and maximum stock thresholds to ensure vans are always well stocked when they are on the road.” With set templates, MCS Rental Software identifies van stock shortages and automatically creates inter-depot transfers of necessary stock from the nearest depot to the van. With this visibility, rental companies can now ensure that they are not over-ordering or under-ordering parts and equipment, improving cash flow and increasing first- time fixes of engineers on the road. “It’s not just from a parts ordering point of view that this feature has an impressive impact. Whenever rental companies are planning their resources, vehicles with specific stock can now be selected, meaning the right driver and parts are sent to each job,” said Nick. Kubota Corporation has unveiled plans for a £100m expansion of its Hirakata Plant, the company’s main mini- excavator manufacturing facility in Japan, to help meet high demand from the UK, Europe and North America. The expansion will see Kubota increase its annual production capability from 48,000 to 78,000 units. Rob White, Division Manager, Construction, Kubota UK, said: “Kubota UK will be able to continue providing its customers with good lead times and access to the latest mini-excavator technologies, as demand increases. And of course, all of this will continue to be supported through our vital dealer network and aftersales offering.” As part of the new expansion, an entirely new building will be erected and focus on the painting and assembly of the machines. The investment will total approximately JPY 17 billion (£100m+), with the new facility covering an area of 12,150m2. Kubota expects the start of operations for the assembly line to commence in Q4 2024, with the painting line becoming operational a year later. The new painting process will adopt an environmentally-friendly powder which the manufacturer claims minimises paint loss and significantly reduces volatile organic compounds (VOC), in addition to the electrodeposition painting, which helps towards anti-rust prevention. Kubota will also reuse the heat generated by these coating processes and employ solar power generation equipment installed on the roof of the new building to reduce the environmental impact of its manufacturing processes. INCREASED EXCAVATOR PRODUCTION TOMEET GROWINGDEMAND “Kubota UK will be able to continue providing its customers with good lead times and access to the latest mini-excavator technologies, as demand increases.”