Global provider of test and technology solutions consolodates.

Microlease, along with the Livingston brand and Electro Rent in Europe, have completed the consolidation of their European operations. The three companies will operate within the global Electro Rent Corporation as Electro Rent.

Add caption

“At Electro Rent, we will be able to deliver brand-independent solutions and unparalleled availability with rapid delivery of a vast range of equipment, anywhere in the world”, said Peter Collingwood, Chief Executive, Europe. “Combined with a wide variety of procurement options, flexible finance options and world-class asset optimisation solutions, we’re ideally placed to help customers get maximum value from test-related investments.”

This will give its customers access to a global inventory worth more than $1.2bn. With over 300 quality brands all available from one source, including major brands like Anritsu, EXFO, Fluke, Keithley, Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, Tektronix, Viavi and more, this is the largest test equipment inventory in Europe.

By drawing on expertise from across the Electro Rent Corporation, their team of highly experienced engineers, finance, and asset management specialists will support a diverse range of customers with their toughest technical and financial test and measurement demands.

With ongoing investment into new integrated business systems, a state-of-the-art Customer Portal and new multi-featured website, Electro Rent will offer customers everything they need to keep pace with the rapid rate of technological change and innovate in the modern world.

Since the start of the integration of its business, Electro Rent has continued to invest heavily in emerging and growing technologies, including $10m in 5G in 2019 alone. The move to one single brand will also benefit the employees and partners of all three companies by boosting global investment and creating new opportunities for collaboration.

Electro Rent’s global leadership in test and technology solutions and services was recognised recently by Frost & Sullivan with the Company of the Year Award for 2019 Global Asset Management and Optimization in Test Equipment. The award recognises their innovative approach in the sector and the resulting value they create for their customers.

“At Electro Rent, we aim to power innovation.” continued Peter Collingwood, “Our Smarter Solutions for Testing and Technology take the uncertainty out of testing programs by ensuring the best equipment and finance options are employed at all times - freeing engineers to concentrate on what they do best. We are excited to share these benefits of the global Electro Rent Corporation with all our customers, old and new.”

#PAuto #TandM @ElectroRentEMEA @ElectroRent

Optical test solutions.

Microlease has added a new manufacturer to its distribution product portfolio: SYCATUS, specialists in noise and delay measurement in optical transmission components and systems. Under the agreement Microlease will sell SYCATUS optical test solutions throughout Europe.

Commenting, George Acris, Director of Marketing - Europe at Microlease, said, “The addition of SYCATUS demonstrates how Microlease is evolving to provide customers with more options to acquire the test technology that they need. The Microlease support team works with customers to select the solution that best addresses their measurement needs, and can then offer a range of financial solutions to enable them to source the equipment on a basis that fits their situation.”

Makoto Shikata, President of SYCATUS, added, “We are excited at the opportunity to partner with Microlease, an organisation with the scale and technical expertise to make our optical and wireline test systems more accessible to the European market.”

• SYCATUS specialises in Relative Intensity Noise (RIN), optical frequency/phase noise and optical delay measurement for high speed optical transmissions and sensing applications. Its systems are aimed at laser manufacturers and optical equipment as well as system manufacturers of single-mode and multi-mode fiber. Microlease already offers new instruments as Keysight Authorised Technology Partner and Premium Distributor in Britain and Italy, as Viavi Premier Solutions Partner in the UK and Germany and as GW Instek Authorised Distributor in Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain, among an increasing portfolio of brands.

@microlease #PAuto #SYCATUS

Cloud based asset management service.

Microlease Ltd has unveiled LEO 2, a new cloud-based Asset Management solution, which can be used to manage any moveable or fixed asset, including test instruments. LEO 2 allows every business to implement best in class through-life management of its assets, creating an accurate inventory of assets held, managing the acquisition of further assets, the maintenance of the asset base, and the identification and disposal of surplus equipment.

LEO 2 captures Microlease’s extensive asset management experience built up through the management of its wide-ranging rental fleet, allowing every company to implement best in class practice. It offers complete management of internal and deployed assets such as instruments. LEO 2 supports the creation of an accurate inventory of all assets held, tracking configurations and reducing turn-around times. It provides complete visibility for the maintenance of the asset base including spares, and communicates this information through the use of a secure shared logistics framework offering innovative KPI dashboards and standard reports.

“Too often, major financial decisions on the acquisition and divestment of fixed assets such as test instruments are made without adequate data on lifetime costs and utilisation. Data is held in spreadsheets that are not necessarily up to date and don’t always provide a complete picture. LEO 2 is a single centralised database which provides clear visibility of assets and physical tracking with easy dashboards, giving a clear picture of the asset investment and its current status including configurations, capabilities, condition and location,” said David Whitfield, CEO Asset Management Services, Microlease. “The structure of the database captures Microlease’ extensive expertise in ‘Through-Life’ management of assets, allowing customers to optimise their asset base for their business and improve performance.”

LEO 2 is a combination of specialist software built on Microlease expertise, helping customers manage complex challenges and asset configurations. Modules capture data relating to asset detail and configuration, asset movements, tracking and logistics, calibration and repair management, real time management dashboards, and utilisation management. It features a completely new and intuitive interface that allows users to search for parts, assets and locations quickly and easily – drilling down to the exact building and the rack where an asset is being held.

Data driven workflows enable users to configure LEO 2 to reflect their in-house processes. Its’ open database is built on Oracle technology compatible with SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite and other major ERP and financial systems. LEO includes standard MoD form reports and KPI dashboard.

Microlease is offering LEO 2 in three formats. LEO Standard for customers who simply want to log and record assets and access basic asset management functions. LEO Select which in addition allows customers to understand utilisation by tracking assets and LEO Elite which provides full management of assets through workflows. LEO Standard and Select are cloud based, and LEO Elite can optionally be hosted internally or via MoD secure cloud.

@microlease #PAuto 

Test & Measurement rental companies to amalgamate!

Microlease is to be acquired from Lloyds Development Capital by Electro Rent Corporation. The transaction is expected to close during Q1 2017. Financial terms are not disclosed.

Microlease CEO Nigel Brown said the combination will create a premier platform with a global footprint.

“Both companies are leaders in testing and measurement equipment rental, sales, and asset management services,” he said. “Combined, we believe we can serve customers better through a significantly expanded equipment fleet and stronger geographical coverage, ensuring better availability levels and a higher level of technical service.”

Electro Rent is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity, which acquired the business in August 2016.

“This is a transformational opportunity that puts the combined company in a better position to serve customers in a global market poised for significant growth,” said Platinum Equity Partner Louis Samson. “We are delivering on our pledge to invest in Electro Rent’s long-term strategic plan and will continue looking for new opportunities to expand organically or through additional acquisitions.”

Mr. Brown will be appointed CEO of the combined company once the transaction is completed. The company’s North American operation will be headquartered in Van Nuys (CA USA) and its EMEA operations will be headquartered in London (GB).

@microlease #TandM #PAuto @ElectroRent

Expansion to support European growth.

Microlease has opened a major extension to its Harrow, London head office and warehouse. The company has leased an adjoining unit giving it an additional 1,500 sq mt (16,000 sq ft) of office, warehouse and laboratory space to support its expanding European business and 225 strong European team.

Nigel Brown, Microlease CEO said, “To grow successfully and drive ever higher standards of customer service and of quality we are expanding our capability at every level. Extending into the unit adjoining our existing headquarters gives us the headroom to grow further and consolidate the integration of the Livingston team and inventory on to the Harrow site. It also helps accommodate the additional stock needed to support our growing distribution relationships.”

The unit allows Microlease to expand at every level. Nigel Brown continued, “Our multi-lingual team of instrumentation specialists is increasing to provide applications and procurement advice to help customers as well as providing technical and logistical support. The additional warehouse helps to accommodate our expanding stock of instruments for rental and for sale in the most efficient way. At the same time, the laboratory area is being extended to service, calibrate and prepare an increasing number of instruments for our customers.”

Microlease has invested over £500,000 in fitting out the new unit, which provides additional office, warehouse and laboratory space. Its European team is now 225 strong, with 175 people based in the Britain. The Harrow based team includes native speakers of most major European languages, and provides support to customers throughout Europe.

The worldwide Microlease team is now 370. The expanded warehouse area has allowed an additional six Kardex Remstar XP500 shuttle storage systems to be installed, providing secure, efficient and climate controlled storage for the Microlease rental fleet and sales stock of over 57,000 instruments and 8,000 different lines. Twenty extra bays of high bay racking have also been added. The new unit also includes a third laboratory area for the servicing, calibration and preparation of new, used and rental instruments.

 @microlease #PAuto #TandM 

The right Equipment in the right hands at the right time.

Microlease has launched its Railway Tool Boxes, simplifying access to the essential equipment needed to manage and maintain the multitude of electrical, electronic and communications systems used on today’s railway.

George Acris, Marketing Director, Microlease says, “Railways are massively diverse in their use of technology. Safety is always paramount, but alongside there is the ever present and growing customer expectation of added value services such as Internet Access which needs to be continually satisfied. Systems that need to be maintained and continuously available extend from safety critical line power, signalling and communications systems to passenger service Wi-Fi and ticketing systems which have a very direct impact on revenue. The Internet of Things (IOT) provides opportunities for the railways to streamline their operations but adds a further layer of devices that communicate and need to be commissioned, monitored and repaired. Microlease is making its test experience accessible to all those in the railway industry responsible for maintaining those systems, helping them ensure that they always have access to the latest high performance test instruments that they need without the burden of maintaining and calibrating those instruments themselves."

The diversity of systems on the railway continues to grow, and ensuring that teams working on maintenance, repair, installation or commissioning projects have the right test tools to hand is a real challenge. Microlease has applied its experience of the instrumentation market to create Railway Tool Boxes to take the guesswork out of ensuring teams always have the correct electrical and electronic test gear to complete their tasks. The Tool Boxes can be applied to a wide range of systems, including signalling, communications, passenger services such as Wi-Fi in trains and stations, trackside surveillance, and self-service ticket machines.

Configured by Microlease experts who understand the challenges of the railway business and environment, the Tool Boxes shortcut the test-equipment procurement process and gives flexibility to tailor the equipment list to meet individual requirements. Microlease can provide a wide variety of equipment for testing items such as fibre installations, copper cables, control units, electrical actuators and drives, pumps, relays, and wireless equipment, which are used extensively throughout rail networks beside tracks as well as in stations, offices and depots, public areas, and on rolling stock. Examples of the kind of instruments that can be included are:

• Monitoring and managing the use of power is integral to the safe and economical operation of the railway. The Fluke 435 and Dranetz HDPQ to meet the special demands of the rail industry and enable installers to verify the power consumption of installed units, assess power quality, and troubleshoot interference coupled on power lines.

• Equipment to help ensure the health of copper cabling throughout rail signalling, communication, CCTV and telecom infrastructures. These include the Megger TDR-2000 for testing connection integrity and pinpointing faults, and the RadioDetection RD-8000 for locating cables that may be hidden underground, or in cavities or walls. For access work on copper access networks the Aten ACT6000 Advanced Communication Tester, covers all current DSL technologies as well as legacy protocols such as POTs, T1 E1 etc.

• Instruments to monitor trackside optical cables. OTDR equipment such as the Viavi MTS-4000 or Exfo FTB-1, which help verify signal-path integrity and identify the location of faults. These cables are particularly vulnerable to environmental stresses, such as vibration caused by passing trains which can lead to poor link performance resulting from high Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD). The Exfo FTB-5500 PMD Analyser can identify these issues.

• Analysers to help visualise wireless network coverage such as the Fluke Networks Aircheck, and the Viavi JD-785 Base Station Test to test the specific GSM-R base stations. Systems like the Ascom TEMS Investigation or Rohde & Schwarz Romes, used with the TSMA scanner, help test cable-to-antenna connections and GSM/W-CDMA/LTE coverage.

• A broad selection of troubleshooting instruments like the Fluke Ti300 and Tix500 handheld infrared camera with LaserSharp® autofocus, the Fluke Connect® mobile app and connected tools. Customers can also support predictive maintenance initiatives with the aid of their Tool Box, taking advantage of equipment like the Fluke 810 vibration monitor which is ideal for detecting wear in machinery, as well as easy to use, flexible recorders like the Yokogawa DL850 or Sefram DAS 1400 for monitoring sensed data over time.

In addition to extensive choice and powerful equipment capabilities, the new Railway Tool Boxes deliver the affordability and convenience that comes with all Microlease rentals. Customers benefit from low up-front investment and freedom from equipment-maintenance overheads.

Microlease has been assessed and certified through the RISIQUE supplier scheme for the British and Irish rail industry (Certificate 15059). Through the Tool Box concept Microlease offers the railway industry access to the test instruments it needs on any basis from short term rental to leasing, ensuring that train and infrastructure operators can make the most effective use of their tight capital and operating expenditure budgets.

@microlease #Transport #Railway #PAuto

Datacentre tool box!

A new Datacentre Tool Box from Microlease has been introduced to equip data centre engineering teams and their subcontractors with the varied instrumentation support that they need to complete installation, upgrades and routine maintenance projects in a single package. It provides a customisable rental package of instruments and equipment for electrical power test, thermal imaging, cabling and optical transmission test – all to the latest standards. The tool box can be delivered to any site world-wide, ready-calibrated and fully tested for immediate use.

The new tool box is aimed at modern data centres that need to provide their customers with high availability to exacting performance standards. Here, high-quality testing is critical across a broad range of technologies.

Rental packages like the Datacentre Tool Box offer engineers access to a broad array of instrumentation, with advanced functionality, high performance and delivering absolute accuracy. The Microlease tool box provides customers with all the different items of equipment needed. It presents ample scope to mix and match an extensive range of options direct from stock. The rental approach offers maximum flexibility in that items can be returned when no longer required or swapped for other models if different test parameters have to be addressed.

The Microlease Datacentre Tool Box encompasses the following elements:

• * Electrical energy loggers including the Fluke 1735; instruments to measure electrical power disturbance over time, for example the Dranetz HDPQ Power XPlorer; and high-end, realtime power quality analysers like the Newtons4th PPA5500 series.
• * Infrared imaging systems such as Fluke Thermovision and Keysight TrueIR cameras help to identify cooling issues or systems and cabling at risk of overheating. These instruments can, for example, diagnose out-of-balance three-phase systems that draw excessive current on the zero line.
• * Cable testing for both copper and fibre installation and renewal is enabled through devices like the Fluke DSX-5000 or the Viavi Certifier 40G.
• * A choice of easy-to-use return loss testers or more sophisticated optical time-domain reflectometers for single-mode or multimode fibre. Fluke Certifibers or the Viavi SmartOTDR fall in the first category, whilst the Viavi MTS-2000, Exfo MAX-720 and Fluke OptiFiber cater for the higher-end requirements. All instruments can be supplied with fibre inspection probes to make sure connectors are clean.
• * The Fluke MultiFiber Pro offers an easy to use loss-test set for systems using multifibre push-on (MPO) connectors, diagnosing bad connections, sharp bends and the like.
• * Available instrumentation for the growing range of transmission protocols used in data centres - from legacy SDH to 1-100 Gbps Ethernet through all rates of fibre channel - includes Exfo FTB-880 and FTB-8830, Viavi MTS-5822 and new CSAM - 100Gig Ethernet testers. There are also testers for high speed (100Gig) interfaces for CFP-1, CFP-2, CFP-4 and QSFP, so that all different interfaces are supported.
• * Custom tool box functions can be augmented to facilitate additional functions such as electrical safety and earth resistance test, cable location, and vibration testing to avoid mechanical damage.

By using rental to source test equipment for every project, the correct and most efficient instrument can be used without making compromises. Datacentre Tool Box users additionally benefit from Microlease’s global logistics and service operations.

@microlease #TandM #PAuto

Best practitioner in test & measurement.

Microlease has been named Company of the Year for Best Practices in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services by Frost & Sullivan for 2015. Microlease received the same accolade in 2013 and 2014.

Jessy Cavazos, industry director at Frost & Sullivan, said, “Winning a Company of the Year award three times in succession is a very rare distinction, but because of its strong overall performance, Microlease fully earned the Frost & Sullivan 2015 Global Company of the Year Award. Striving to become the one-stop shop customers were looking for, the company has continued to broaden its offering from rental and leasing services to include new test equipment, used test equipment, and asset management services. Microlease has adopted a dramatically different strategy than its key competitors which has enabled it to grow its business at a much higher rate than its peers.”

Nigel Brown, CEO Microlease.

“Customers are becoming more aware about the cost of test, they are exploring ways to better manage costs related to test and measurement tasks. Microlease is seeking to partner with them and help them identify and adopt test strategies that are more aligned with their needs. We are delighted that Frost & Sullivan has identified Microlease as the industry leader based on customer service, vision, financial performance and brand position for the third year in succession,” said Nigel Brown, Microlease CEO.

In its report Frost and Sullivan highlighted that Microlease’s success is driven by offering customers value and delivering high-quality services, creating strong customer loyalty. They were particularly impressed with the company’s strong technical expertise that supports customers. Moreover, Frost & Sullivan's research shows that its growing global footprint has also proved to be essential for providing local support in Asia for American and European customers with developing operations in the region.

Cavazos added, “Microlease’s geographic footprint is larger than that of any of its competitors and spans North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The acquisition of Livingston boosted the organic growth of its rental business in Europe, and added locations in India and Singapore to strengthen its position in Asia.”

To win the Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year award requires a company to demonstrate excellence in growth, innovation, and leadership. Analysts look at how a company performs in terms of driving demand, brand strength, and competitive differentiation. In addition, they seek rigorous focus on visionary innovation to enhance customer value and impact. Frost & Sullivan's independent analysis clearly showed that the company’s differentiated offering combined with a strong grasp of factors such as equipment availability and logistics that determine success in a rental market, allowed Microlease to grow its business at a much higher rate than its peers.

At the same time, Microlease announced that it has been named in the 2015 edition of London Stock Exchange Group’s 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain, a landmark report identifying the Britain’s most exciting and dynamic small and medium-sized businesses.

Catalogue for pre-owned test instrumentation.

Microlease has just published an updated catalogue detailing its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) products. Complementing the company’s rental and brand new equipment options, its CPO offering is made up of carefully selected items of equipment, including ex-rental models that have been meticulously maintained throughout their operational lifespan.

“Our key objective at Microlease is to offer the broadest conceivable scope of possibilities when it comes to test equipment supply,” states Paul McCloskey, Sales Director EMEA for Microlease Group. “Our CPO program is an important facet of this. Through it we can provide a reliable, stable and highly responsive source of used equipment adhering to the highest quality standards. The combination of CPO with our new equipment sales and rental business operations results in a unique value proposition for the market - allowing our customers to select equipment that simultaneously matches both their technical and budgetary criteria.”

Their CPO presents engineers and procurement managers with a highly cost-effective way of rapidly acquiring the instrumentation they need, without having to settle for inferior products. The financial savings involved are substantial, with as much as an 87% reduction on the manufacturers’ list pricing being witnessed. There are in excess of 5000 units ready for shipment to over 150 countries around the globe. Before CPO products are listed, they are fully refurbished and recalibrated. They are then put through a rigorous 23-point quality check. To ensure client satisfaction, CPO products are backed by a comprehensive 1 year warranty (with extended terms available) and subject to a 10 day right of return policy.

Among the many leading manufacturers featured in the CPO program are Aeroflex, Anritsu, Dranetz, EXFO, FLIR Systems, Fluke, Graphtech, Keithley, Keysight, Rohde & Schwarz, Sefram, Tektronix, Viavi, Voltech and Yokogawa. Rental and finance options are also available on all items of equipment.

The regularly produced Microlease CPO catalogue encompasses, RF, general purpose, industrial and environmental application categories. Included in the latest edition are oscilloscopes, cable/antenna testers, RF network analysers, RF signal generators, digital multimeters, optical time domain reflectometers, optical spectrum analysers, network analysers, optical power meters, transmission testers, tuneable laser sources, power supplies (DC and AC), data loggers, protocol testers, thermal imaging cameras and fibre optic splicing tools. The publication is available in an array of different languages, including English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

Team to develop Certified Pre-Owned channel!

Microlease has named Paul McCloskey as Board Level Director dedicated to developing Certified Pre-Owned (CPO), a comprehensive programme to address a growing customer demand. It also named three senior executives, Philippe Suel, Jean Bernard and Neil Whitehead, who will report to him and oversee the CPO channel in specific European regions.

Paul McCloskey

Commenting, Paul McCloskey, said, “Microlease’s mission is to help customers acquire, use and dispose of their test equipment assets with maximal financial efficiency. The Certified Pre-Owned programme is central to that mission. It creates the opportunity for buyers to realise a risk-free financial saving by acquiring quality, guaranteed instruments at a much reduced cost. For customers who are using the Microlease Asset Management service, it provides the opportunity to achieve the best possible financial return on quality surplus test equipment.”

The Microlease Certified Pre-Owned programme is based on instruments sourced from the Microlease rental fleet as well as the growing number of blue-chip companies whose test assets it manages. A number of quality instruments that have been taken in part exchange are also included. Each instrument is inspected, refurbished and calibrated according to a 23-step certification programme and carries a comprehensive Microlease warranty. It includes instruments from leading manufacturers including Keysight Technologies, Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz, Tektronix, JDSU and EXFO.

Paul McCloskey was previously Director of European Sales at Microlease and is a Board Director. He has spent 28 years at the company and has 38 years’ experience in electronics test and measurement. He started his career as an electronics design engineer with Lucas.

Best Practices in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services.

Microlease has been named Company of the Year for Best Practices in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services by Frost & Sullivan for the second year in a row.

Jessy Cavazos, industry director at Frost & Sullivan, said, “The expectations of test and measurement equipment customers are at an all-time high. They demand support on a global basis and require assistance in managing their assets throughout the product life cycle from acquisition to disposal. Microlease’s integrated offering comprising rental and leasing services, certified pre-owned test equipment, new test equipment and asset management services fully addresses those customer needs. You expect an instrument rental and sales company to offer its customers the latest and greatest technology, but Microlease goes well beyond that with a range of services that help customers acquire, use and dispose of their test assets with maximum financial efficiency.”

She continued, “Microlease’s value proposition resonates with customers across the industry and is fuelling its growth. It has made significant investments to support customers locally across all three regions of the world. It provides local support in Europe, the USA and Asia, including India and South East Asia. We congratulate the Microlease leadership team and employees on their magnificent achievement.”

Frost & Sullivan industry awards recognise companies that have demonstrated a unique approach toward doing business in their respective markets. Microlease was named the recipient of the Company of the Year Award for a second time after analysts assessed that it continued to lead the industry in terms of growth strategy, implementation, innovation and leadership in customer value.

“We are delighted that Frost & Sullivan has recognised our business model for a second year in a row. At Microlease we aim to give our worldwide customer base a real choice and provide them with a complete service that exactly meets their requirements for the lifetime of their projects, whilst helping them to manage their assets effectively,” said Nigel Brown, Microlease CEO. “We will continue to drive innovation in our industry and grow by helping our customers be more successful.”

Anticipates demand from 4G terminal and network development & manufacturing teams!

Microlease has become the first European customer and the first rental company to order the new Keysight Technologies E5080A ENA vector network analyser. As a Keysight Authorised Technology Partner, Microlease will also be offering the instrument for outright purchase.

Commenting, Peter Spillman, Global Inventory and Procurement Director, Microlease plc, said, “Customers designing and manufacturing 4G and next-generation smartphones, tablets and base transceiver stations will be eager to benefit from the features and performance of this significant new instrument. Our investment means that it is available to them quickly on a commitment-free rental basis, and that they can move forward and acquire the instrument from us once they have established a long term requirement. This instrument sits right at the sweet spot of Microlease’s business.”

Compared to the popular E5071C ENA, the E5080A offers performance advantages including more than 10 dB wider dynamic range (typically 147 dB) and up to 10 times faster measurement speed in real-world test scenarios. The ENA also offers a large color touchscreen display with fast access to basic measurements. These enhancements improve precision and throughput in the testing of RF components such as filters with deep rejection bands.

• Microlease is the Keysight Authorised Technology Partner in Britain, Ireland and Italy for new equipment and Premier Rental Partner for Europe and North America. In addition to rental, Microlease offers Keysight equipment on a range of finance options including outright purchase as well as Easy Rent (Rent-to-Buy), Easy Lease (Leasing with Services) and Easy Buy (Divide-By-12).

Director of IT and customer experience for test equipment company.

Microlease has appointed Stephanie Coleman as Director of IT and Customer Experience, with a specific remit to develop the rental, sales and test asset management solutions that Microlease offers its customers. Coleman rejoins Microlease from Sky, where she was Director of Customer Journeys.

Stephanie Coleman

Nigel Brown, CEO of Microlease, said, “Our effective customer facing team and our IT systems are the twin pillars on which the instrument business solutions that we offer our customers rest. Indeed, the asset management service allows our customers to benefit directly from the electronic tools we have developed to manage our fleet of instruments. We made a strategic decision to unify IT and customer service at Board Level and brought Stephanie Coleman into the team as business leader with the experience and skillset to develop these two key areas of our business together. Stephanie has worked with me before and will bring her considerable insight to bear in taking us forward on our customer experience journey. She will help us evolve the solutions that we offer and ensure that we continue to exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Stephanie Coleman added, “The Frost and Sullivan award shows that Microlease already leads the industry in offering our customers a complete solution of which rental can form a part. What interests me is that it has great potential to develop and grow further, with a team that is both effective and open to change. The company is passionate about delivering great service to its customers, I am extremely proud to be associated with it, and to have the opportunity to help it further along the journey.”

Stephanie Coleman was at Sky for nearly two years as Director of Customer Journeys. Prior to this she spent two years at Microlease as Strategy and Planning Director. She also spent four years at Citi and Egg, as Head of Customer Experience and Head of R&D, five years as Managing Director of Merchants Group and eight years as a Management Consultant.

Microlease was presented with the highly prestigious Company of the Year award for Best Practise in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services at Frost & Sullivan’s annual Growth, Innovation and Leadership awards ceremony in London in May 2014.

Appointments at test and measurement equipment management company.

Microlease has announced the appointment of Peter Collingwood to the new position of Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, and Bina Khatwani as Finance Director, EMEA. Following these appointments, Nigel Brown, CEO and Paul Smith, Finance Director, take global roles.

Peter Collingwood

Commenting, Nigel Brown said, “We’re very pleased to have brought senior executives of Peter and Bina’s talent onto the Microlease management team. Peter Collingwood brings Microlease an outstanding track record in sales and general management and we are delighted that he is able to join us to lead our business in EMEA, a core region for Microlease. In this role, he will benefit greatly from Bina Khatwani’s experience of the financial management of large international businesses, gained working at Regenersis, British Gas and British Telecom.”

Peter Collingwood added, “Microlease is an exceptional company in an exceptional position. I am delighted to be offered the opportunity to strengthen and develop the EMEA business working with its effective and focused team.”

Peter Collingwood joins Microlease from Veeco Instruments Inc. where he spent six years as Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Service and VP and General Manager Europe.  Prior to that, he was at JDSU for over twenty years where he was Regional Vice President of Sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and held multiple sales management roles during the evolution from TTC to Acterna to JDSU.

Bini Khatwani

Bina Khatwani was Group Financial Controller at Regenersis, a listed technology outsourcing business, for two years. Prior to this, positions held have included Head of Finance at British Gas Services, Financial Controller at British Telecom plc and Senior Finance Manager at Walt Disney. Nigel Brown now becomes Global CEO focusing on strategy and the development of the business worldwide. Mike Clark, CEO Americas, David Whitfield, Managing Director Asia and Peter Collingwood report to Nigel and take day to day responsibility for managing their regions. Paul Smith, Finance Director becomes Global Finance Director and will also report to Nigel Brown.

Nigel Brown concluded, “Peter and Bina’s appointments complete a management structure that will allow us to grow globally. We now have a talented and dynamic individual leading our team in each region of the world, allowing Paul Smith and I to focus on global strategy. We will continue to address the needs of customers everywhere whilst evolving as a successful worldwide business.”

Unique agreement provides bit error rate tester for Europe!

Microlease is Only Western European Partner to Offer New Tektronix BERTScope for 100G systems

Microlease plc has announced an agreement on a 6 month project with Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, allowing it to offer the new BERTScope® BSA286CL. Microlease will be the only provider in Britain, France, Germany and Italy using its full range of financial solutions for the manufacturer’s equipment: Tektronix-Rent, Tektronix-Try, Tektronix-Defer and Tektronix-Lease.

BERTScope Bit Error Rate Tester

Commenting, Dean Miles, EMEA Technical Marketing Manager from Tektronix said, “By partnering with Microlease, we are able to offer our customers unprecedented flexibility in accessing and using BERTScope technology. By sourcing through Microlease, customers can access the instrument that they require cost-effectively based on their needs in terms of frequency of use and budget situation. They can use rental to obtain immediate use of an instrument, fulfilling the measurement needs of their project and allowing full evaluation of the equipment. Moreover customers can also then move to longer term leasing or outright purchase arrangements, including a ‘Try’ option that gives rebates for the rental period. Microlease’s footprint with customers as a total solutions provider made it the ideal choice for this technology. For many of our customers working on short to mid-term projects, having alternative financial solutions to source the equipment when they actually need it, is vitally important”

George Acris, Director of Marketing, Europe at Microlease added, “The Tektronix BERTScope Bit Error Rate Tester Series provides a new approach to signal integrity measurements of serial data systems. With the new addition, this Series is now able to fully test 100G communications standards. We are proud and delighted that Tektronix has decided to partner with Microlease on a new instrument which will be highly significant to its users, including many in the Semiconductor and Defence industries as well as many other sectors.”

The Tektronix BSA286CL BERTScope Bit Error Rate Tester is being exhibited in Europe for the first time at ECOC, Europe’s largest optical communications event this week in Cannes (F). The BSA286CL is designed for the low intrinsic jitter and precision impairments required for testing a broad set of 100G communications standards including OIF-CEI, CAUI, and InfiniBand Standards. The BSA286CL is the industry's first to fully meet these precision impairment and error analysis requirements for 100G systems, along with ease of use which BERTScopes are renowned for.

• Microlease was presented with the highly prestigious Company of the Year award for Best Practise in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services at Frost & Sullivan’s annual Growth, Innovation and Leadership awards ceremony in London in May 2014.

Pre owned test & measurement instruments!

Microlease Certified Pre-Owned, a comprehensive programme to address growing customer demand for quality test instruments with guarantees and calibration has just been launched by Microlease. This programme will include instruments from leading manufacturers including Keysight Technologies, Anritsu, Rohde & Schwarz and Tektronix.

“Microlease Certified Pre-Owned is central to our mission to help customers acquire, use and dispose of their test assets with maximum financial efficiency,” says George Acris, Director of Marketing, Europe at Microlease. “Through this programme, Microlease selects, refurbishes and guarantees quality instruments, sourced from our rental fleet as well as the growing number of blue-chip companies whose test assets we manage.
A small number of quality instruments that we have taken in part exchange are also included. The Microlease Certified Pre-Owned programme creates the opportunity for sellers to realise a return on surplus equipment and for buyers to acquire instruments at a reduced cost.”

He continued, “Microlease Certified Pre-Owned is one of the industry’s most comprehensive test instrument re-ownership programmes in terms of its breadth and scope. For buyers, this creates a much broader and deeper range of quality used instruments to select from and delivers a risk-free financial saving. By going beyond resale of surplus rental instruments, Microlease is also delivering an effort-free financial return for our asset management customers with surplus equipment. Microlease Certified Pre-Owned represents a significant expansion of our used channel, which will become a much more significant part of our business alongside our rental and new sales channels. Each Certified Pre-Owned instrument carries a comprehensive Microlease warranty, ensuring quality, reliability, and customer confidence.”

Instruments accepted on the Microlease Certified Pre-Owned programme are inspected and refurbished according to a 23-step certification programme. All instruments undergo electrical and functional tests, validation and full refurbishment. This includes updating firmware and other software, a full internal and external clean and rectifying cosmetic issues such as damaged controls and feet. Prior to shipment the instrument is calibrated and configured to order. This includes adding options and accessories to suit the receiving customer and where possible configuring the user interface language and time zone set to the destination country. Instruments are supplied with all the standard accessories originally included by the manufacturer, including any leads, manuals and disks, as well as the correct power lead for the destination country where applicable.

• Microlease was presented with the highly prestigious Company of the Year award for Best Practise in Global Test and Measurement Rental and Leasing Services at Frost & Sullivan’s annual Growth, Innovation and Leadership awards ceremony in London in May 2014.

A first in European Test & Measurement market!

Microlease is celebrating the launch of Keysight Technologies, Inc., formerly Agilent’s Electronic Measurement Business. Microlease, whose global headquarters are in Britain, became the first partner to do business with Keysight in Europe by placing an order for new products for its inventory.

Keysight Oscilloscopes!

“We are thrilled to do business with Keysight as it spins off into its own entity,” says Nigel Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Microlease. “Keysight is now the world’s leading electronic measurement equipment manufacturer, and we are committed to helping the company prosper globally.”

Microlease has had a long-standing relationship with Agilent Technologies, dating back to when its electronic measurement group operated under Hewlett Packard. Microlease placed the first order with Agilent in Europe when the company separated from Hewlett Packard in 1999.

• Effective 1 August 2014, Keysight Technologies, Inc. is operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Agilent Technologies, Inc. until the formal separation expected in early November 2014.