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A new Star is born |
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Two of South Africa’s premier film trailer rental companies, Star Film Rentals and Seven Star, have joined forces to create a new entity known as Fleet Star. Shareholder Johan van Huyssteen says, “This is a very exciting development for the industry. Fleet Star now offers 55 trailers and 30 trucks, making it the largest company of its kind in Southern Africa. Combining the two businesses brings together the best of both companies and gives our clients the benefit of a full range of vehicles plus unparalleled support and back-up. This is the first step towards building up to a full service company offering the complete range of on-set support vehicles.” Star Film Rentals was started in 2003 in response to the growing need for professional on-set accommodation and utility vehicles, followed by Seven Star in 2008. Star Film Rentals manufactured trailers locally with South African roads and working conditions in mind, while Seven Star imported state-of-the-art trailers with sliding “pop-outs” from a leading American manufacturer. The merger brings together local expertise with global best practice to the benefit of the industry. The worldwide economic downturn of the last few years, combined with a strengthening rand, has had a severe impact on the industry, which affected both companies. This led to a decline in production volumes, with trailer prices falling dramatically in 2007/8. In this exceptionally difficult trading environment, it became apparent that the market was not large enough to sustain two trailer companies offering a similar service, so it made sense to merge. The good news for producers is that there are significant synergies resulting from the merger. In particular, the cost savings of consolidating overheads means Fleet Star is more viable than the two companies were separately. This financial stability will enable the company to continue to invest in new vehicles and trailers and rigorously maintain the current fleet. It also enables Fleet Star to expand the range and level of services it can offer producers. The current rental rates are still well below the rates of the period 2003-2007 and continue to represent great value to producers. Rentals manager Martin Offersen says, “We will always be highly responsive to the specific needs of each production. Some films have reasonable budgets while others will have low budgets - our challenge lies in putting together a package for each film that is appropriate to that budget. In this regard, strong ongoing relationships with clients are vital in that they enable us to balance the clients’ lower budget films with their higher budget films. This can only work in an environment of mutual support - Fleet Star needs to be economically viable if it is to offer and maintain products and services expected by our local and international clients for many years to come.” In addition to international features and television productions, Fleet Star intends to create greater awareness of the benefits of using the trailers on commercials, local television shows, and the burgeoning local features market. In the medium term, the company will open regional branches in Johannesburg, Durban and Namibia, which will make it easier and more cost-effective to service films in those regions. “Fleet Star welcomes suggestions from the industry as to what vehicles they would like to see on the fleet – we are committed to understanding and satisfying production’s onset accommodation needs. We will continue to look at ways of adapting our current fleet to make them more accessible and useful, especially for smaller shoots, commercials and stills. In addition, we are embarking on a redecorating program to extend the highly popular ‘African Safari’ feel of the star trailers to ensure visiting actors and producers get a uniquely African experience on set,” says Johan. “This business is all about relationships. The better we get to know producers, unit and transport managers, the better we are able to serve their needs. Our task is to make the complex task of on-set vehicles as painless as possible. We look forward to growing along with the industry and taking Fleet Star to the next level.” Fleet Star will operate out of purpose-built premises in Philippi (GPS co-ordinates S34°1'51.77" E18°32'49.88"). The key management team comprises Martin Offersen overseeing marketing and rentals; Phillip Roodman managing on-set service, operations and logistics; Denvor Max taking care of all maintenance and vehicle servicing; and Gaylen Silvey managing accounts. The team are supported by a further eight staff members and a large contingent of tried-and-tested drivers. For more information, visit the official website. Kevin Kriedemann | |||
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