CCTV Investments Drive Growth of Remote Inspection Rental Business

Ashtead Technology (UK) has experienced rapid growth in its rental business for remote inspection equipment such as CCTV remote control crawlers and push-rod camera inspection systems. “We have invested heavily in the range of technologies that we stock in our rental fleet,” says Jay Neermul, Regional Sales Manager, “and this means that not only are we able to supply kit for almost any application, but we are also able to ensure that customers employ the most appropriate instruments for their specific application.”

Pipes, drains, culverts, voids and other difficult-to-access locations vary enormously in terms of size, shape and construction material. As a result, construction, repair, cleaning and inspection engineers all need access to a wide range of test and inspection instruments. The Ashtead Technology fleet of visual inspection equipment includes instruments for inspecting every pipe from 10mm all the way up to 1200mm in diameter. However, purchasing all of the necessary equipment in order to be able accommodate this variability, would be not be cost-effective, so renting is the obvious solution. “We make this investment, so that our clients don’t have to,” Jay says. “Nevertheless, there are more advantages to renting than just financial,” he adds. “Firstly, rented equipment is delivered clean, tested and ready for work; there are no storage or maintenance issues, customers simply use the kit that they need, when and where they need it.

“Secondly, inspection equipment is developing all of the time, so renting provides access to the latest technology, without having the burden of being restricted to the capabilities of a purchased tool.”

Recent additions to the Ashtead Technology rental fleet are the iPEK range of high-quality pipeline inspection systems, including the iPEK Rovion RX 130 Crawler and the iPEK AGILIOS AR90 Push Rod Camera, which offer excellent flexibility across a wide range of pipe diameters; 50-300mm for the Agilios Push Rod, and 150-650mm (with elevator option) for the Rovion Crawler. At the same time, Ashtead Technology’s facility in Hertfordshire has become an iPEK approved Service Centre, providing repair and maintenance for a number of iPEK systems, including the Rovver, Rovion and Agilios crawler and push-rod cameras. In addition to iPEK products, Ashtead Technology rental customers are also able to select from other brands such as Minicam, Pearpoint, Wohler and Riezler.

A further example Ashtead’s comprehensive instrument fleet is the Mini-Cam Proteus crawler camera inspection system, which is now available with a battery power pack option that is useful for locations lacking power or with limited access. By operating the Proteus from a battery pack, the unit can be operated for over 5 hours and the whole system can be mounted on a trolley. As a result, it is completely transportable and extremely quiet – an important consideration in residential locations.

Many inspection sites require appropriately certified equipment where locations are potentially explosive, so Ashtead has also invested in the Pearpoint P571 explosion proof Pushrod Camera System for inspecting pipes of 76mm to 450mm diameter and the Pearpoint P374 intrinsically safe Pipe Pushrod for 25mm to 100mm diameters.

“In summary,” Jay says, “Our success in the CCTV inspection market has been a direct result of the technology investments that we have made; all designed to ensure that every customer gets the right tool for every job.”