TCR understood 20 years ago that owning, managing and maintaining GSE was a specific area of expertise and that the core for the end user, be it a ground handler or an airline or an airport performing handling operations, was guaranteed availability and reliability of their equipment at all times to provide handling efficiently and concentrate on their own core handling business, in a worriless way.
TCR’s answer was the Operating Lease or Full Service Rental model, making the above possible by encompassing all issues related to GSE management whilst achieving a lower total cost of ownership: by avoiding inefficiencies, by providing an optimised GSE fleet mix in terms of models and size with contractually guaranteed availability and up-to-date service level, by improving punctuality through reliable GSE and by increasing flexibility. Full Service Rental rapidly became a valid alternative to GSE ownership, resulting in well-maintained and ready to use equipment, and, for ground handlers, avoidance of massive investments which are not always covered on the long run as the handling contracts typically have a duration of 3 to 5 years.
The handling industry and its complexity have evolved. Environmental constraints to comply with green policies, increased agility and solid safety guidelines whilst keeping a total cost of ownership as low as possible result in multifaceted GSE requirements. Customers expect more than just guaranteed GSE availability. The customised services depend on the type of handling operation and its specific challenges. In order to satisfy these complex expectations, GSE rental companies have to master strong expertise, to understand each customer’s specificity and to benefit from a large network of GSE to fulfill rapidly, when needed, any GSE request. TCR continuously adapts its offer and organisation to satisfy all those GSE challenges. Telematics, sharing of GSE, real time data management, reporting and GSE fleet consultancy are some of the services types that TCR offers to its customers on top of its original Full Service Model. An in-depth analysis with the client will result in recommendations to avoid economical and operational GSE related inefficiencies. “Each service is available independently but a catalyzer-effect will result from the perfect combination of selected GSE services,” says Jan De Leeuw, TCR Group Commercial Director.
A rental company has to be up-to-date with the new trends to offer relevant, holistic and long-term vision solutions. The innovation team at TCR aims at tracking new technologies ahead of the market to offer a strong added value to avoid threats that may result from unexpected disruptive innovations and always keeping in mind how to make customers stronger on the long run.
In March 2019, Aeroporti di Puglia signed an agreement for Full Service Rental and GSE maintenance to tackle the management of the airport GSE fleet in an innovative way: guaranteeing the renewal of the most obsolete vehicles and the daily availability of a predetermined number of vehicles; reducing the frequency of breakdowns and the unavailability of vehicles due to need for repairs thanks to the more efficient and effective management of the maintenance programme; improving its protection of the environment with the greater use of electric GSE or with the latest generation of endothermic engines and finally increasing the safety of passengers and operators thanks to the introduction of telematic control systems for vehicles and aircraft assisted approach devices based on the new IATA AHM913 regulation.
For Aeroporti di Puglia this agreement is part of a policy that sees it involved, as a modern public sector company managing services and infrastructures in favour of a community, in guiding its choices with the highest attention to socio-environmental aspects and to the transparency and fairness of management processes.
