Hydro Mobile makes distribution changes

Hydro Mobile has ended its dealership agreement with TNT Equipment because TNT has entered a business partnership with Hydek to create and be the sole distributor the Hydek Pro Series. TNT will distribute all Hydek equipment.

"In the recent months, Hydro Mobile and TNT's market perception and business priorities were growing further apart," said Vincent Dequoy, president of Hydro Mobile.

TNT and Hydek have developed the Hydek Pro Series which will work hand-in-hand with current towers available in the market and operate with a compatible climbing mechanism. Upgrades to the Pro Series include a Honda 13 hp motor, galvanization of the complete bridging and power unit and a bridge system that offers modularity. The units will be manufactured at Hydek's factory in Shanghai, China.

"The strong tendency in the manufacturing industry to subcontract production in China in order to increase competitiveness does not always best serve the end users," Dequoy said. "Past experiences, in similar situations, have resulted in failure and have proven to be unsuccessful."

Mike Solomon, US sales manager for TNT, visited the manufacturing facility with Nick Valentine, a TNT owner, in September and said the company laid down what they expect and Hydek acknowledged all requests. While visiting, TNT inspected and reviewed the quality assurance program and the steel tube facility, reporting that both are ISO 9001 compliant and are subject to third party inspections. All Hydek products, according to the WJE Associates firm, exceed or meet ANSI and OSHA standards and details of the products and subsequent tests can be viewed in a 14-page report on either TNT or Hydek's websites.

TNT will continue to rent and service the existing Hydro-Mobile product line. "We have the largest rental feet - 250 units - of Hydro-Mobile scaffold in the US," Solomon said. "We are going to continue to service and rent everything we have; we will never skip a beat."

Solomon stresses that TNT is responding to its large customer base by providing its clients with a unit that fits the "economic times we are all in," he said.

Customers in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, Texas, Florida and parts of Indiana could be affected, said Hydro Mobile. The Canadian manufacturer said it was now looking for "dedicated dealers to cover these specific areas".