Ramirent trusts ABAX to manage its fleet

“First, we did vehicle inventory. We gathered vehicles in different locations so we could install the tracking device in as many cars as possible at the same time. The installation went very well, and the system started working immediately.”

Anderson is also happy about being able to remove and install the equipment herself, for example, when a leased car reaches the end of its life and is replaced with a new car. This saves time and money by eliminating the need to use a third-party installation service.

The electronic vehicle tracker does not require a separate identification device, but the driver logs into the vehicle with the Valttikortti, which is a type of personal identification card covered by the Health and Safety at Work Act.

ABAX's system provides Anderson with information on Ramirent's approximately 130 production vehicles. In addition to the vehicle data, she receives the mileage from leased cars and can thus anticipate the renewal of lease contracts. Mileage tracking is also important because she can see the exact mileage of the cars in the system at any given moment.

Data is only available for those who need it

All of Ramirent’s trucks are equipped with an ABAX tracking device, which is connected to the vehicle's tachograph. The system is easily installed on the vehicle’s CAN bus. The information it provides makes it possible to monitor fuel consumption, for example.

As a result of the FMS integration, Anderson is able to remotely decode the driver card data from the recorders directly into the ABAX system. This saves her time and effort, as she doesn’t have to physically unload the data from each vehicle separately. She is also able to monitor drivers' driving and rest times in real-time.

The ABAX system allows the person managing the vehicles in each area to see where the vehicles in his area are, and they can contact the nearest vehicle to ask its driver to pick up a machine from a nearby jobsite, for example.

“The system has strict limits as to what data people have access to. The ABAX system makes it very easy to build departmental access.”

Both the regional vehicle managers and Anderson easily get the reports they need from the system. Anderson has a very positive experience of four years of cooperation. Lately, they have had less contact because everything works exactly like it should.

Ten years of working together

Ramirent's Fleet Manager Jukka Nyrhilä and ABAX's Account Manager Leader Juha Mensonen have worked closely together for ten years. 

Their collaboration initially began with installing tracking devices on hoists, boom lifts and compressors. These assets still use ABAX products. Since then, their cooperation has expanded, on the one hand, to meet Ramirent's needs and, on the other, based on the new products and services that ABAX has been able to offer Ramirent.

Their long-standing cooperation agreement was renewed at the end of summer 2022, when Ramirent wanted to centralise all its monitoring equipment with a proven partner. The long-term collaboration with ABAX was an important selection criterion.

Generators are under continuous monitoring

A brand new contract for monitoring equipment covers hundreds of Ramirent rental machines, the largest of which are heavy-duty diesel generators. Wind farms are a typical location for generators, where they will be used until the wind farms are connected to the national grid.

The use of generators varies quite a bit. For example, at Metsä Fibre's bioproduct plant in Kemi, Ramirent generators have been used to provide power during construction and to electrify workspaces. On the other hand, Destia needs similar equipment to power submersible pumps on their bridge construction site for the day.

In addition to operating hours, the ABAX service provides Ramirent with location information for its equipment. This is important to give service technicians accurate location information when the equipment requires maintenance.

“On jobsites with LPG heating, our heaters have leak detection alarms. If a gas leak is detected, it is reported remotely and transmitted within seconds to jobsite foremen and supervisors via mobile phone and email. We centralised this monitoring at ABAX as well,” says Nyrhilä.

Easy-to-use ABAX MINI for over 200 devices

When ABAX launched the bluteooth tracker, ABAX MINI, which runs on its own battery and costs just a few euros, Ramirent adopted it immediately. They use Bluetooth to tell you where, for example, the hoist basket or other accessory is located. All ABAX devices are capable of Bluetooth communication.

“We’re using a couple of hundred of these cost-effective and easily removable attachments. For example, when a hoist goes to a jobsite, we can tell the driver to pick up an extra basket that is not in use from a nearby jobsite. We use them to help with transport planning,” says Nyrhilä.

Processing data to help customers

Predictive maintenance alerts are a very important part of ABAX's service. When Ramirent’s machines or vehicles start to approach the end of their maintenance period based on mileage or uptime, the person in charge of the equipment or vehicle will receive an alert by email or phone.

For many years, he has considered Ramirent a special customer, has always made himself available, provided training, and dealt with problems immediately – and often personally.

“When the customer knows how to use our system, that’s when they get the most out of it,” Mensonen continues.

When asked about the secret to this long-term collaboration, Nyrhilä refers to personal relationships several times and the close development work with Mensonen. 

“I've wanted Juha to be the only person to take care of things related to our machines. He knows what we do and does a great job with customer service. Whatever the problem might be, Juha will figure it out. We don’t feel like we’re just another customer among many.”

Ramirent as part of something bigger

Ramirent was founded in 1955, and with 60 locations, it is the largest equipment rental company in Finland. An increasing proportion of the traditional tool and equipment rental company's turnover is made up of a wide range of services, such as jobsite electrification, heating, protection and scaffolding. Technical services and traffic security for major events have also brought growth to Ramirent. In 2019, Ramirent became part of the French Loxam Group. It is Europe's largest and the world's fourth largest equipment rental company. Its turnover was €2.2 billion in 2021. Ramirent's turnover in the same year was €189 million.