In this issue we’ve interviewed Mr Simone Hume from MC Property Maintenance Ltd.
1. What is your main activity?
MC Property Maintenance Ltd is primarily a painting and decorating firm, that also undertakes property maintenance works at height.
2. When did you start?
The company was started in the late nineties and has grown steadily since then.
3. How did your company evolve in these last years?
Over the last three years MC Property Maintenance is has seen significant growth. We have now invested in an extensive range of access platforms and cherry pickers, which not only enables us to be very competitive when pricing external and internal painting and maintenance contracts, it has also enabled us to open our own hire department that has grown extensively over the last few years. With this investment we are now able to offer more services to our clients specialising in working at height. These include roof repairs, gutter cleaning and repairs, lighting maintenance, building inspection access and installation of pest prevention systems. We have also invested in the Doff steam cleaning system, this enables us to clean the outside of different types of external finishes to buildings, for example stone, cladding and monocouche render. This system kills any bacteria on the walls that causes premature discolouration.
4. Where do you work?
MC Property Maintenance predominately works within the South-East of the country, We look to work from Poole in the west to London in the north and Ramsgate in the east.
5. What is your policy regarding your competitors? Do you present to the market an image of company that understands the nature of the competition and that is proactive?
MC Property Maintenance is in a very competitive market place, so identifying our competition and understanding our own USP’s is an essential part of the management process. We are constantly looking at how we can provide our customers with more service and value for money. Value for money being the most important influence, with the diversity of the services we can provide increasing, our clients can realise the costs saved. Owning our own fleet of access platforms, means we are able to be very competitive in pricing our painting projects.
6. How has the market evolved recently?
Due to the Brexit vote we have noticed that the market has become very cautious. Unsure exactly where pricing is going, clients are looking for more answers before committing to large projects. Clients are looking for companies to provide more services under the one banner, rather than engaging a decorator and a company for access, a company that can provide both are in a much better position to win the work.
7. How is the assistance service provided for your customers?
The service we provide our customers is provided by a strong management structure within the firm, and communicating with our clients on a regular basis, making sure we are delivering the service they require and taking on board any of their recommendations.
8. What is your “recipe for success” – what values are important in your daily work?
MC Property Maintenance has never really had a “recipe for success”. We look to employ professional, dedicated staff that understand our clients and always work to the best of their abilities. Operated hire is definitely where MC Property Maintenance feels we can really provide value for our clients. All our IPAF operators are also qualified painters, carpenters, roofers or general builders and are willing to work beside our clients to maximise the hire value to the client.
9. How big is your fleet?
We currently have 9 machines in all, this includes 5 spider lifts, 3 truck mounts and a jumbo truck mount.
10. What type of machine do you own?
The spider lifts are mostly easylifts with a CTE Traccess as well. Our truck mounts are all CTE Zed 21JH or JHV’s. These are the work horses of our company, and we also have a Palfinger NX480 which gives us the ability to provide all options to our clients.
11. How many CTE platforms do you own?
We have 4 CTE platforms.
12. What characteristics make CTE platforms winners?
The CTE platforms have become an integral part of our company. The CTE Zed 21s give us the versatility of good height on a 3½ ton chassis, meaning that most of our work force can drive them, with a great outreach which is so paramount to most of our clients. An essential part of purchasing CTE’s is the constant updating of safety aspects on the machine, secondary braking and other innovations, giving our clients the assurance that all their health and safety requirements are complied with and in most cases beaten.
13. What do your customers want in a platform? What is driving their choice, today?
What our customers want in an access platform is value for money, taking into account safety, functionality, ability, and effectiveness. Has the platform the ability to do the job, will it provide the functionality to make the job as simple as possible, is the platform the most effective for the job eg. will a larger machine have to reposition itself less, thus having the workers actually work on the job for a greater amount of time during the day.