Before ABN AMRO Lease Holding N.V., the parent company of LeasePlan USA, announced on Oct. 26, 2000 it had agreed to acquire fleet management services company Consolidated Service Corporation (CSC), the two companies did not share many clients.
The acquisition was finalized on Dec 11, 2000 and LeasePlan and CSC look to provide clients of both companies with a larger menu of services, increased technology and more fleet management experience at every level.
“This acquisition offers both companies many valuable synergies, which we feel will greatly expand both our current product and service offerings and enlarge our overall expertise in the industry," said Hugo Levecke, CEO and chairman of the board of LeasePlan's parent company, ABN AMRO Lease Holding.
Ron Starr, president of the family-owned CSC, which is based in Elk Grove Village, IL, and has been in business for more than 60 years, becomes a senior vice president of Lease-Plan USA in a consultative capacity, reporting to David Dahm, president/CEO of LeasePlan USA. Starr said Don Kreft, who retired as president and CEO of Lease-Plan USA in July 2000, approached Starr and his father, CSC CEO Pat Starr, in the summer of 1999 about CSC helping LeasePlan expand its accident management and rental capabilities. Those talks evolved into LeasePlan acquiring the entire business of CSC, including all of CSC's buildings and its brand name.
Pat Starr will continue with the company as a consultant during the transition.
LeasePlan Taps Claybrooks to Oversee Transition
John Claybrooks, an e-business and transition specialist formerly with IBM Global Services, has been hired as LeasePlan's vice president of business transformation and integration. He will lead a select group of LeasePlan and CSC management personnel in guiding and completing the transition of CSC within one year. A project team of department-specific associates from both companies will also outline their particular synergies, best practices, and goals and report to the Steering Committee headed by Claybrooks.
Claybrooks said one of the first priorities of the transition is to make certain that all of CSC's more than 2,000 clients know that LeasePlan recognizes the value, reputation and brand equity of the CSC name.
"This acquisition is extremely unique in our industry in that it's the first time a major lessor has combined its strengths with a fleet management services partner that pioneered the business," Dahm said. "It would not be in our best interests to change the name, eliminate any of their product and service offerings or develop a strategy that dilutes their service reputation in any way," added Dahm.
LeasePlan clients can expect enhanced maintenance and accident management programs, fleet management software, insurance service offerings, and a maintenance call center available 24 hours a clay, seven days a week.
CSC President Ron Starr said, "We saw LeasePlan as a unique partner that has the same values and commitments to clients that we do. From a business standpoint, we have added product choices, technology enhancements and opened doors to new international capabilities."
He added that "CSC wanted to give our customers the choice of running a fleet separate — managing their own data — or running it through an e-commerce solution."
Dahm and Starr envision the two companies taking the best Internet practices from each company and eventually presenting them in a common platform. LeasePlan's recent certification for ISO 9002 will also be a template for documentation processes at CSC in the future. Additionally, the short-term vision is to get all billing for both companies through the Internet. "For a combined client, we want to give them a portal to get all information electronically through one source," Dahm said. "We will be able to produce for the account one summarized bill with all their costs detailed out and it's not coming from two sources."
CSC now joins LeasePlan and QEK Global Solutions as part of the LeasePlan Group. QEK provides automobile manufacturers and OEM suppliers with the delivery of automobiles, logistics, engineering, sales/ marketing support, and integration of specialty automotive services.
Dahm said he also sees synergies between CSC and QEK.
"We're using QEK as a delivering dealer where they actually will be delivering vehicles to our drivers in certain locations," Dahm said. "Their work and their relationships with the manufacturers and the OEMs that support the manufacturers holds a great value in that they can utilize CSC in some of their accident management programs that some OEMs and manufacturers do not have today."
The sales forces of the two organizations will be combined under the direction of Gary Scanlon, LeasePlan's senior vice president, sales and marketing.
"For both LeasePlan and CSC, our past success in new business development has come in large part through the ability of our sales staffs to build strong, professional relationships with their prospects and maintain these relationships after being awarded the business," Scanlon said. LeasePlan Vice President Richard Pipenhagen will manage the eastern U.S. and CSC Vice President Phil Brennan will manage the western U.S. Both will report directly to Scanlon.
LeasePlan's Maintenance Operations Heads to Chicago
LeasePlan's fleet maintenance operations will move to Elk Grove Village, IL.
However, the two companies have few services that overlap, unlike when two fleet management lessors merge.
"Even where there is some overlap, we need experienced personnel in other areas. Due to the fast growth of both LeasePlan and CSC, there will be opportunities for advancement in Atlanta and Chicago," Dahm said.
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