One of America’s largest and most diverse distributors of heavy equipment, H&E Equipment Services, has expanded its offerings in the material handling sector with the new generation of purpose-built material handlers from Sennebogen.
Constantino Lannes, president of Sennebogen North America, recently announced that H&E Equipment Services, based in Baton Rouge, LA, has been appointed as the newest addition to the distributor network for Sennebogen green line machines.
H&E is ranked as one of the ten largest equipment rental businesses in the United States. H&E operates three business divisions with more than 40 locations in 15 states.
The Sennebogen green line material handlers will be represented by H&E’s Earthmoving Division, with sales and service through 8 branches in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
H&E originated in Louisiana in 1961 as a supplier of heavy equipment for construction, earthmoving, compaction, paving and material handling customers.
In recent years, the company added new divisions specialized in cranes and aerial lift equipment, with branches ranging throughout the mountain states up to Montana and across the south from New Mexico to the Carolinas.
According to H&E’s Bobby Slay, vice president –– Earthmoving Division, the company considered Sennebogen’s proposal carefully before adopting the new material handling line.
“We don’t like to take on a line just to fly the flag,” he explained. “If we’re going to take it on, we want to do everything and do it right, from marketing the line properly to service and support.”
After evaluating the machine’s design, pricing and market potential, H&E purchased a 90,000-lb. Sennebogen 835 M rubber-tired material handler and placed it in stock at the company’s New Orleans branch.
According to Slay, “We saw good potential in the scrap business, especially with scrap metal prices being so strong and yards purchasing new equipment. Actually we have been surprised –– you don’t often have this kind of success so quickly.”
Since acquiring the demo 835, H&E has placed orders for two more machines: a smaller 830 wheeled machine that will go into scrap-handling service in Shreveport, and an 835 R-HD crawler-mounted unit purchased for pulpwood and timber-handling.
Sales representatives in the eight regional H&E branches also report active interest for a variety of bulk-handling applications in ports and transfer stations along the Mississippi delta.
“It’s been a quick marriage for us,” Slay said. “Our branches in this area have a strong support staff; the technicians are already familiar with this type of equipment; so it’s just a minor adjustment for them to get up to speed.”
Slay stated that the level of service from his Sennebogen representative, Phil Degreif, has been an important factor in the early success of the line.
“We’ve been very impressed by Constantino Lannes as well,” Slay said. “He’s very knowledgeable about this industry and brings a lot of experience to us.”
To reinforce the service strength of H&E branches, Sennebogen has hosted training sessions at several locations and expects to offer additional sessions for the area’s more distant branches in the near future.
“As our experience with the line progresses,” said Slay, “It’s only going to get better.”
Sennebogen has been a leading name in the global material handling industry for more than 50 years. Based in Charlotte, NC, Sennebogen North America offers 21 different purpose-built machines to suit virtually any heavy lift or “pick and carry” application.
A growing network of distributors supports Sennebogen sales and service across North America, ensuring the highest standard of professional machine support and parts availability.
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