Hurricane Season is Here. Prepare Your Hurricane Equipment Rental Fleet!

Predictions thus far, including a recent prognosis by The Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project Team -- “2021 Hurricane Season Looks “Above Average” So Far” -- is for an “above average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 17 named storms. This includes eight hurricanes, four of which are predicted to become major hurricanes.”

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and the Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs May 15 through November 30. According to the study, the upcoming 2021 hurricane season is “exhibiting characteristics similar to 1996, 2001, 2008, 2011 and 2017. These seasons all had above-average Atlantic hurricane activity, according to Phil Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science and lead author of the report.”

And while the tropical storm season may seem far off, it’s not; especially when it comes how you, as an Atlas Copco equipment dealer, prepare; because how well you prepare will have a direct impact on how well your customers are prepared.

This is probably not your first hurricane season, so you already know what you’re in for. Your customers are going to need equipment rental to perform two critical functions; generate and restoring power and pump water. And to do so, they’re going to be relying on you… your guidance, and your inventory of portable pumps and portable generators.

Start by assessing your inventory. Take a look at historical data. What have the demands been on your business during past storm seasons? Knowing that this year’s season is predicted to be “above average,” take that into account when deciding how many pumps and generators you need to have on hand.

Make sure that your equipment is ready to go at a moment’s notice. If you have any equipment that has not “seen action” recently, go ahead and perform regular preventive maintenance services, like lubrication and oil changing.

Get a “be prepared” message out into your marketplace, encouraging potential customers to start thinking now about their equipment needs when the bad weather hits. The sooner that equipment gets reserved, the sooner you’ll have a handle on how much inventory you’ll need to have on hand to meet the demand.

Portable gas or diesel-powered generators are a preparedness must have as storm recovery equipment. Why? Let’s face it, there’s only so much you can predict with a hurricane. If history has taught us anything, there’s at least one thing you can be absolutely sure of; you’re going to need to have plenty of generators on hand.

Portable generators, gas and diesel-powered, offer the flexibility your customers will need to respond to uncertain, emergency situations for power supply after the storm. It also makes sense to have fixed generators on hand, too, which customers may need to generate critical back-up power for extended periods if needed.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey dropped more than 20 trillion gallons of rain, causing massive inland flooding. The disaster recovery required a lot of hurricane pumps.

Over time, we’ve learned that it has become increasingly difficult to anticipate where flooding will occur; even areas that are usually considered low risk are being adversely affected. That means your customers are going to need pumps that can be easily transported and positioned to do the work that’s needed… quickly and efficiently. You can be sure that pumps will be in high demand when the season starts. Be prepared; get them in your inventory now!

In summary, don’t leave anything to chance. Make sure that you’re prepared. How? Have a plan based on both past inventory and predicted inventory demands. Get that equipment locked up now, before other dealers beat you to it.

And lastly, get the word out to the marketplace that you have the pump and power equipment needed to weather any storm; Atlas Copco portable generators and pumps.