Jacques Chovghi Iazdi is the founder of JC Iazdi in Brazil, and is an expert trainer, author and speaker on aerial platforms. Jacques started his career at the Haulotte Group before opening his own business after the global financial crisis of 2008. Today Jacques Iazdi has his technical sales consulting firm in Aerial Platforms where he also trains and qualifies operators Aerial Work Platforms in the largest companies in Brazil.

How and when did you get into the equipment rental industry?

In 2000, I was working at Akzo Nobel, a multinational paint company. During my stay there, I visited clients in the North and Northeast of Brazil, traveling an average of 7,000km per month. The company served the largest customers in the industrial segment for the sale of paints. I was approached by the Director of the Haulotte Group, who wanted me to be part of his team to start selling aerial work platforms in Brazil. This was a big risk to my career, as I was entering an industry that I had very little knowledge of, in a market that had minimal aerial platforms and had no regulatory standards on aerial platforms. I accepted the challenge, and it ended up being one of the best decisions in my career so far.

What type of roles and responsibilities have you taken on over your career?

I spent 6 years working at the Haulotte Group selling their equipment in Brazil. The first year was very difficult, as it was a new market and customers had very little knowledge of aerial platforms. I ended up making my first sale after 6 months to a customer who was providing service to Petrobras in Mossoró in Rio Grande do Norte, who saw the safety benefits of using an aerial work platform. My commitment to sales from that day onwards shifted to focusing on safety at work at heights, which brought me great success. Very few people in Brazil knew how to operate aerial work platforms, and it was something I was very passionate about.

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In 2008, everything collapsed overnight, when the Haulotte Group fired most of its sales team in Brazil due to the global financial crisis. This was a very stressful time in my life, as there was very little work available. I didn't want to give up on the aerial platform equipment industry, so I gained further experience by working at a variety of major Brazilian companies including Solaris, Locar, IrgaMamuth and BMC managing the operation of Merlo Group and Link Belt Cranes in Brazil.

In 2012 I started my own company called JC IAZDI which provides technical advice and training for various brands of equipment such as Haulotte, Merlo, JLG, Genie, Skyjack among other manufacturers and also being one of the founding members of CESME (Commission for Engineering and Safety in Machines and Equipment) from Sobratema and I write technical articles on aerial platforms in magazines in Europe, Latin America and Brazil among magazines of Sobratema and of lessor associations such as ALEC and Apelmat.

Who played a big influence in your career, and would you consider being a mentor for someone in the next generation?

Undoubtedly, there were two people that had a big influence on my career. The first being Angel Maestro Acosta, the Director of the Haulotte Group. He gave me the opportunity to join the equipment industry, which has shaped my last 18 years. Angel always took the time to listen and give advice, at the same time that he used to accompany me on client visits and advise me on my strengths and weaknesses. The second being Hamilton Bogado, former director JLG Brasil and was my director at BMC where we did excellent work with Merlo Group and Link Belt Cranes where I did training and visits to LInk Belt factories in the USA and Merlo in Italy.