A customer story by Freedom Scaffold

RAXTAR Hoist Generates Lucrative New Revenue Stream for Oklahoma Scaffold Company

Freedom Scaffold is a full-service, Oklahoma-based scaffold company, which, for more than 60 years, has been renting and selling system scaffold, shoring, swing stage, stair access, temporary handrail and fencing to clients throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas. The company caters not only to large commercial and industrial customers, but also to start-up contractors and established small businesses.

Under the leadership of Ryan Morris, who joined the company in December 2020, Freedom Scaffold has harnessed a strategy to dramatically grow the business by providing a faster, more efficient way for its customers to move people, equipment and materials up and down their building projects.

A next level partnership that goes far beyond the sale
“We’re all about helping our customers overcome their challenges,” explained Ryan. “So, when one of our customers was in search of a more efficient way to accelerate the construction process, we started looking at electric hoists. After researching several manufacturers and multiple models, we landed on the RAXTAR RX SMART Series model.”

Designed to move up to 5,000 pounds of materials and personnel at speeds up to 120 feet per minute, the RX SMART Series hoist is the ideal solution for mid-rise projects.

“Because our team viewed this as a long-term investment, we felt the RAXTAR hoist offered the best value in terms of speed, weight capabilities and ease of use,” said Ryan. “However, what was just as important for us was having the benefit of RAXTAR’s experience in the hoist business. The company has an incredibly seasoned team in the U.S., and they held our hand throughout the entire purchase, shipment, delivery and initial use. Being new to hoists, we had no idea where to begin, but Joanna Tomczyk, RAXTAR’s Executive Director of Sales for North America, helped us navigate each step of the process, including providing us important insights and strategies for our marketing efforts.”

“At RAXTAR, we firmly believe in nurturing next level partnerships,” explained Joanna. “We know that the decision-making process can be confusing and, at times, downright nerve-wracking. When we partner with our customers, particularly those who are new to vertical access solutions, we make it a point to share our experience—to enable them to be successful right out of the gate.”

Joanna continued, “We can identify with so many of our customers because we, too, got our start as a rental and service business nearly three decades ago, operating various models and brands of hoists and mast climbing work platforms and, over time, we grew to become the full solution provider we are today. Over the years, we have seen that when we work to ensure our customers succeed, we succeed. That’s why we always go the extra mile to be sure our customers are not only pleased but delighted with our products and customer service.”

Hoist creates an additional revenue stream with healthy profit margins
“We’ve been in this business a long time and so have many of our competitors,” explained Ryan. “When it comes to scaffolding, we often find ourselves in a situation where multiple companies are all vying for the same business. That means everyone’s pricing has to be extremely competitive, so margins are really tight.”

“The RAXTAR hoist has created an additional revenue stream for our company and enables us to differentiate ourselves by differentiating our offerings. Because we’ve added a state-of-the-art hoist to our lineup, we can afford to be extremely competitive on our traditional scaffold pricing.”

The hoist made its debut at the construction of a new Osage Nation casino in northeast Oklahoma. The Pawhuska property will feature 250 slot machines, restaurants, a four-story hotel, pool, spa and fitness center.

Ryan said, “Recently, the project’s general contractor told us the RAXTAR unit is the best lift he’s ever used and the easiest to operate. Now that he and his colleagues are familiar with it and know it’s available, it’s really in demand. In fact, we’ve already submitted proposals for three upcoming projects.”

Partnering for success
“The RAXTAR team has been incredibly responsive to all of our needs; we really feel like they’re an extension of our team,” said Ryan. “For example, a few months back, we had a minor issue with the hoist’s limit switch and RAXTAR’s tech support team walked us through how to fix it, so we were able to resolve the issue on site quickly. We find their support folks to be incredibly committed to the customer.”

“Soon after we purchased our hoist, RAXTAR’s co-founder, Pascal, met with our sales team while traveling from the Netherlands. He and Joanna gave us some unique perspectives on how to market our hoist to potential customers. Our employees were really inspired to see where RAXTAR started out, how quickly the company grew, and to understand how their hoists are being used today on some of the world’s most challenging construction projects.”

Hoists are instrumental in growing the business
“Given the demand we’ve seen for this hoist in these first several months, we’re not planning to stop here,” noted Ryan. “We’ve already spoken with RAXTAR about purchasing several additional units, including a dual hoist with 12-foot cars for our larger projects.”

When asked what this hoist means for Freedom Scaffold’s business, Ryan replied, “To put it in football terms, by adding the RAXTAR hoist to our tried-and-true scaffold offering, we’ve recruited an outstanding wide receiver to complement our already talented quarterback.”