CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT OEMS COLLABORATE ON VANGUARD SWAPPABLE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE STANDARDISATION IN EUROPEAN RENTAL

London, March 25th, 2025 – Rental companies across Europe are collectively facing the challenges associated with the energy transition. There is no shortage of OEM brands offering different electrified products powered by various battery systems, either covering a broad portfolio of one’s own brand, or spanning multiple OEMs offering similar or competing products - which leaves the rental business and fleet managers overwhelmed by a multitude of options and high complexity.

Briggs & Stratton who manufactures the Vanguard battery systems is working with a consortium of leading construction OEMs that have chosen to collaborate around one swappable battery platform to give rental exactly what it is asking for. The group of companies includes Bartell Global, B-mac, Brendon Powerwashers, Eqlab, Lissmac, Muck-Truck and NTC whom provide a broad portfolio of products from compaction plates to compaction rollers, concrete saws, concrete trowels, floor saws, table saws, powerbanks, mini-dumpers, and bowsers. All of which are standardised around the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery system.

Paul Bramhall, Director Electrification / Rental EMEA at Briggs & Stratton explains “We see many OEMs investing in electrification and adopting our lithium-ion batteries. At the same time, we speak to numerous rental fleet managers who are unsure which system to choose to optimize their operations and reduce total costs of ownership. With our Si1.5 swappable battery, we have a solution that could be a game-changing driver of the energy transition, enabling small to mid-sized OEMs to collaborate, expand their market share, and at the same time support rental businesses in achieving their goals.”

Together, the group of OEMs is working to address critical issues faced in the rental industry, offering rental companies a broader product portfolio of electrified construction equipment all powered by the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery system. This enables easy fleet integration, standardisation, simplification, fast charging with best in class runtimes and ultimately, leads to a lower total cost of ownership.

Many of these products will be showcased and highlighted at the bauma trade show from the 7th to 13th April.

Time to collaborate

In order to help the rental industry accelerate the energy transition, close collaboration between power suppliers and OEMs is of paramount importance and will effectively drive the economies-of-scale required to help lower the costs.

As Jon Overman, CEO of HSS The Hire Service Company stated at the Rental eSummit 2024, “What is needed is the voice of industry and how we work together – we need real collaboration between the manufacturers on how we can charge forward together, because the cost of change and the cost for all the manufacturers must be inordinate. Manufacturers chasing after each other to make a different battery, a better battery, a different charger and how these things are going to work together is adding complexity and cost. Collaboration at the manufacturer level can help bring down the cost of change and accelerate the change into more sustainable fuels. We need simple specifications that help us all work easier together.”

The OEMs in the group all share a common philosophy to offer high quality products and services while striving to stay at the forefront of innovation. All of the equipment brands represented have a foot into the European rental industry and therefore understand what the needs of rental customers are and what they need to be successful.

Maximum utilisation of runtime on site

One of the biggest challenges contractors see with electrified products is the runtime. Therefore right sizing the battery is critical. Maximizing equipment uptime and reducing recharge times is crucial.

John Hill, Group Vice-President at Bartell Global who offers compaction plates and trowels powered by the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery system commented “What attracted us to the Vanguard swappable battery system is the battery capacity and its robust design. We know the rental industry is very demanding of product performance. Runtime is absolutely crucial for contractors and this battery system not only offers industry-leading runtime thanks to its 1,5kWh capacity, but the fact that it is interchangeable across applications and brands enables the operator to get maximum utilization on site.”

Willem Decramer, Managing Director of Belgian concrete floor preparation equipment brand B-mac stated “For the equipment we manufacture, runtime is our number one consideration. The Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery offers us the greatest flexibility. We can achieve superior runtimes while having a battery system that is completely interchangeable across other brands and applications which makes the job site more efficient. Furthermore, it makes the integration of our equipment into the rental fleet so much easier.”

Easy Fleet Integration

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is really important for any rental company. Therefore standardising around one battery system not only helps to achieve that but also dramatically eases the product integration into the fleet. Standardisation reduces asset complexity and fleet management.

Terry Rowlands, Managing Director of the UK’s leading mini-dumper manufacturer, Muck-Truck, claims “There is a growing interest in the market for electrified mini-dumpers. This could potentially add one or multiple more battery SKUs into the rental fleet. However, by powering with the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery this allows the Muck-Truck mini-dumpers to be easily integrated into any rental fleet where this battery system is being used. For the equipment users, the ability to interchange batteries with other applications and brands makes it easier to work with on site, and for extended runtimes they can easily interchange batteries.”

Likewise Oliver Brauchle, Sales Director for Germany based Lissmac noted that “We specified the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery system on our DTS 402 B masonry saw and CC 202 B compact floor saw as it enables easy interchangeability across both products and fits within the broader construction portfolio of this group. The net result being that this will enable seamless integration into any rental fleet using this battery technology.”

Anders Olsson, CEO of Swedish-based EqLab, manufacturer of the next generation inverter / powerbank states “The USP of our system is the Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery system. The powerbank has an industrial design and weighs around 20kg which is easy for one operator to carry. It offers a 3000W continuous power up to 6000W peak which is significantly higher than competing products in the market. But as I stated, the real USP is the fact that the battery can be used across a broad range of applications in the rental fleet, ultimately driving greater battery utilization rates and lowering the total cost of ownership.”

Need for standardisation

The key to unlocking the complexity of the energy transition lies in the ability to have one battery system cover as many applications and brands as possible. Standardisation on a broader platform base will help to address the chicken-and-egg dilemma many OEMs and rental companies face today as they try to develop a winning strategy.

Pavel Ratsam, CEO of Czech light construction equipment manufacturer NTC noted “We were looking to electrify a broad portfolio of compaction plates and compaction rollers. We needed a battery system that offered a capacity to meet our runtime expectations as well as be easily transferable across our product portfolio while standardising with other complementary products in the rental fleet. The Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery gave us this opportunity and much more. Due to the demanding nature of the compaction product, the extremely robust design of the battery system is very much appreciated.”

Rob Hendy, Technical Director of UK based Brendon Powerwashers advised “There is a growing demand for emissions free bowsers that are not restricted by a power cord. By nature these applications are power hungry, so the ability to swap out batteries easily and fast recharge is really important. The Vanguard Si1.5 swappable battery is the logical choice as it fits within a broader portfolio of battery powered equipment in the rental fleet.”

Visitors to bauma 2025 can explore these products at the following stands:

• Bartell Hall - A2, stand 349 (Briggs & Stratton | Vanguard booth)

• B-mac - Hall A1, stand 231

• Brendon Powerwashers - Hall C4, stand 514

• Eqlab - Hall A2, stand 349 (Briggs & Stratton | Vanguard booth)

• Lissmac - Hall A1, stand 249

• NTC - Hall A1, stand 515

• Paclite - FS.1104/2

• Vanguard Battery Systems - Hall A2, stand 349

   

Learn more about equipment leveraging the power of standardisation here.

Contact:

For more information, please contact Connor Fogarty, Senior Account Executive, connor.fogarty@bwpgroup.com

About Briggs & Stratton | Vanguard:

Briggs & Stratton, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, provides innovative products and diverse power solutions to help people get work done. Briggs & Stratton is the world’s largest producer of engines for lawn and garden, turf care and job site power equipment and is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lithium-ion batteries, standby generators and energy storage systems through its Briggs & Stratton®, Vanguard®, Ferris®, Simplicity®, Snapper®, Billy Goat®, Allmand®, Branco® and Victa® brands. Briggs & Stratton products are designed, manufactured, marketed and serviced in over 100 countries on six continents.

Vanguard helps professionals to get their work done by applying power to their unique commercial applications. For more than 35 years, Vanguard has partnered with customers to conquer challenges and develop innovative products. As Vanguard doesn’t simply provide components, it supports customers in applying commercial lithium-ion and petrol power throughout the entire integration process, from development to serial production to after sales and training support.