Rapid and Hydra-Slide Prepare for Breakbulk Americas

Portsmouth, UK-based Rapid Response Solutions (RRS) will exhibit at two major international trade shows before the end of the year with the chief objective of raising the profile of its partnership with Hydra-Slide, a manufacturer of hydraulically powered skidding systems.

RRS was recently named the Canadian manufacturer’s only international sales partner and will join Hydra-Slide on Booth 1639 at Breakbulk Americas, which takes place next week (26-29 September) at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. The companies reverse roles two months later when LiftEx 2016 will be held 23-24 November at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre in Scotland, where RRS will exhibit at Stand 87.

Paul Barber, managing director at RRS, explained that the objectives at each event will be different. Breakbulk Americas will present education and networking opportunities, while LiftEx represents a platform for promoting the sale of the full Hydra-Slide range. A working model and other equipment will be on the stand to that end. Hire and project support services will be on offer but sales and support will be priority, he reiterated.

Breakbulk is the largest exhibition of its kind in the Americas, attracting shippers together with breakbulk and project cargo service providers. Co-located workshops, networking events and educational tracts are a draw for top-tier attendees and industry professionals. RRS’s Barber and Stuart Trinder, sales and distribution manager, will join Don Mahnke, president and Janine Smith, vice president at Hydra-Slide Ltd on the booth.

‘It’s hard to think you can move 1,000t on two bits of metal with some graphite paste between them, but that’s what Hydra-Slide makes possible’—Paul Barber, managing director at RRS

“Spending time with Don will be a real education,” said Barber. “He is well respected and knows a lot of people, which will help us achieve an objective of networking with businesses from outside the UK who have projects within the UK. We will be pushing for hire and project work accordingly. The American market is very different to the UK and we hope to gain a better understanding of bulk moving activity in that geography.”

This is the first time LiftEx—the annual show is organised annually by trade association LEEA—has been staged in a heavy lift hotbed, with Aberdeen widely known as the Energy Capital of Europe. It is also the first time RRS has exhibited, having previously attended only as a visitor. Oil and gas professionals, in addition to the show’s more traditional lifting and rigging demographic, will descend upon Aberdeen with the RRS stand a focal point for many. Smith will travel from Canada to join the team.

Barber said: “We have to change our focus from Breakbulk and become product sales people, which is a new experience for us given that we are typically engaged in selling a service. We are expecting to be centre of attention because many won’t have seen anything like the Hydra-Slide kit before.”

As widely reported, RRS recently took delivery of a 300t capacity HT300 system from the Ontario, Canada-based manufacturer for its own hire purposes, while the distribution agreement covers the entire range and further enhances the company’s already extensive portfolio of products and services.

Barber concluded: “As a product supplier to be able to say we have bought the products for our own projects teams is a real commendation. The products are amazing but seeing is believing. It’s hard to think you can move 1,000t on two bits of metal with some graphite paste between them, but that’s what Hydra-Slide makes possible.”