CONSTRUCTION ROADSHOWS

Operators from across the UK were recently given an exclusive opportunity to experience the power and precision of Merlo UK’s extensive range of construction machinery at a series of roadshows staged by the manufacturer who celebrated 30 years of trading in the UK at the end of 2023.

The well attended roadshows, stretching over five days in March, were hosted by Merlo dealers at five separate locations extending from Wales and the south west of England to the north east of the country with customers able to get up close and personal to a wide selection of Merlo equipment ranging from compact telehandlers and tracked machines to the battery powered eWorker telehandler and what was arguably one of the ‘show stoppers’ of the event, the Roto50.30S Plus rotating telehandler.

Owen Buttle, National Sales Manager for Merlo UK, said the roadshows provided an ideal way to allow customers across the country to test out the Merlo product range first-hand. “All the roadshows attracted plenty of visitors who were keen to get into the driving seat and to take part in some of the challenges we created for the occasion.”

Added Owen: “It is important for us at Merlo UK to interact with our customer base. One thing we pride ourselves on is having that close working relationship and dialogue with them, and it is equally important to have events like these so customers can get a feel of how our machines operate in a working environment, enabling them to appreciate how smooth, manoeuvrable and precise the equipment is.”

The series of roadshows began at Southwest Handling’s depot at Whiddon Down in Okehampton. Established in 1994, Southwest Handling is a prominent Merlo franchised dealer of agricultural & construction equipment throughout Devon and West Somerset. The team there has a vast experience and knowledge of the Merlo brand, having been awarded Merlo UK’s Gold Standard in 2022 and Merlo UK parts dealer of the year 2021.

We caught up with James Baker, Product Support Manager for Merlo UK, at the second roadshow which was held at Kellands Plant Sales in Bridgewater in Somerset. The dealership also operates from three other locations across the south of England.

“We had a great day at Kellands where we had a large number of machines on display and visitors took the opportunity to test them out for themselves,” said James, who added that a lot of interest had been shown in the Roto50.30S Plus.

“It is quite a special machine because it has a lift capacity of around five tonnes with a maximum reach of 30 metres, 360 degree slewing rotation, a market leading tilting cab, self leveling stabilisers, hydrostatic transmission and is powered by a Stage V 170hp engine. It also has a remote control system, so it can be operated at a safe distance, ideal, for example, if you needed to lift a heavy object like, say a hot-tub, over a house into a rear garden. Customers at the roadshow certainly enjoyed trialling the machine.”

From Kellands, the roadshow moved on to Phoenix Hire and Sales in Newport in Wales. Operating out of seven depots, they were appointed dealers nearly two years ago to represent Merlo UK in South East Wales, achieving the Multi Depot Hire Award at the Passionate Hirer Awards at the Executive Hire Show in February.

Up next for the roadshow was Shellplant’s depot at Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. Established in 1972 as an independent organisation, Shellplant has grown in strength over many years of trading and was appointed by Merlo UK in 2020 to provide Sales and Service to customers in the Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire areas.

Once a customer gets into the seat of a Merlo they are quickly convinced of the merits and benefits of the brand…

Another star attraction at the roadshows was Merlo’s Cingo range of compact and easy-to-handle machines designed for working in tight spaces. In addition, the low centre of gravity ensures maximum lateral stability on slopes, and the tracks put less pressure on the ground, providing greater adherence on uneven and irregular terrain. The wide range available includes models with capacities from 400 kg up to 1200 kg.

Last stop of the roadshow tour was BH Plant Sales in Carlisle who were appointed by Merlo UK as its dealer for Cumbria and Northumberland in 2021. Here, as at the other events, visitors had a great opportunity to learn about the benefits of the Merlo construction range.

Glen Pritchard, Construction Key Account Manager at Merlo UK, told us that visitors across the week were especially keen to see a demonstration of the Merlo eWorker. The launch of the eWorker in 2021, with its 2.5 tonne load capacity, 4.8 metre lift height and 2.6 metre reach marked a very important moment in the history of the company. Safety, efficiency, performance and sustainability have always been clear factors in any of Merlo’s design processes and the eWorker range has taken all those values to the next level.

“This is the only machine developed by Merlo from scratch as a battery powered telehandler,” said Glen. “It has a fully recyclable lead acid battery that will work for a full eight hour shift with a nine hour recharge cycle and a battery life of around five years or 1,800 cycles, which impressed our visitors.”

He added: “We believe it is very important to get in front of our customers at events like this not least because there are a number of features on our machines that the competition doesn’t offer. Once a customer gets into the seat of a Merlo they are quickly convinced of the merits and benefits of the brand, and we are delighted these series of roadshows have been a real success, resulting in the sale of some machines on the day and lots of interest to follow up.”