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Executive Report : Executive news
GAP SURGES AHEAD
GAP reports that its capital expenditure on plant, tools and equipment for the first eight months of its trading year has surged to £58m, representing an increase of £12.1m, or approximately 26%, compared against the corresponding period for the previous year.
Ken Stewart, the hirer’s Head of Procurement, said, “All our eight divisions are showing a healthy increase in capital expenditure as we continue to benefit from increased utilisation levels. Investment
in unmanned plant this trading year has resulted in excess of
900 excavators and 400 dumpers being purchased to date.
“By investing heavily, we are able to continually reduce the age profile of our fleet, allowing our valued customers to take delivery of high-specification equipment which conforms to the latest legislation. Our Tools and relatively young non-Plant divisions have also benefited from this substantial investment with some excellent financial performances being recorded. Investment in our extensive fleet of commercial vehicles and our national depot network is excluded from the aforementioned £58m”.
GAP, which is celebrating its golden anniversary in 2019, is on target to break through the £200m turnover barrier this financial year. The addition of new divisions and product lines has necessitated
the subsequent growth of its depot network, which has more than doubled in the last seven years. The company now operates from 142 depots nationwide.
1st Call adds Thwaites dumpers
1st Call Nationwide Plant Rental has bought 55 Thwaites dumpers through Leicester-based distributor, BTE Plant Sales, comprising 3-tonne, 6-tonne and 9-tonne swivel skip models.
Barry Verrent and Mick Lippard, Joint MDs of 1st Call, said, “With demand strong and utilisation extremely high, the machines have been fully prepped by BTE. In some cases, the dumpers have been delivered directly to site”.
BTE Plant Sales Commercial Director, Rebecca Bryson, said, “This is a significant Thwaites Dumper order, demonstrating the confidence of contractors and the confidence of plant hirers.”
New Volvos for Nixon Hire
Nixon Hire has taken delivery of the first E-series variant of Volvo’s 1.8-tonne compact excavator, with an initial batch of 16 EC18E machines. The E-Series models are said to offer significant improvements over the D-Series machines in terms of stability, lifting capacity and ease of servicing.
Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nixon Hire has 14 depots in England and Scotland, employing more than 460 personnel.
Big Boels order for HGI
HGI Generators has supplied Boels Rental with more than 400 of its HRD060 machines as the hirer expands its UK operation, which currently stands at 38 depots.
Bryan Harris, MD of HGI, said, “We developed the HRD range specifically for the hire industry, where a rugged, cost-effective and reliable generator is paramount.”
Another reason for HGI to celebrate is that the company will be commemorating it 40th anniversary this year.
Re-branding for Pickerings
Pickerings Plant, which provides portable buildings and related products, has changed its company name to Pickerings Hire Ltd, and will now use Pickerings as its trading name.
MD Neil Moss said, “In recent years we have seen an unprecedented demand from our customers for a growing and wider range of portable and modular buildings. We have invested heavily to ensure they can hire the most modern building solutions and associated products.”
The business was established 50 years ago as a plant hire company and has its head office
in Measham, close to the Leicestershire and Derbyshire borders.
Fairfax adds 1,000th machine
Fairfax Plant Hire has reached another milestone with the announcement that machine number 1,000 has been added to its growing fleet. The company has its main depot in Selby and has established a second depot in Leeds.
Director Mark Love said, “One of our great strengths is the quality of our plant and our relationship with major suppliers such as Case, CAT, Kubota, Hitachi, Volvo, Komatsu, Bomag, Thwaites and JCB.” Fellow Director Matthew Love added, “With turnover expected to increase by around 20% this year and plans for further depot openings in 2019, everything is looking very positive for the future.”
Hire Network Award shortlist complete
The two remaining companies shortlisted for the Hire Network Award have been announced. The Park Royal depot of Toga Hire Centres and the St Neots location of Concord Lifting Equipment join the Birmingham branch of Hireforce, who were nominated towards the end
of last year.
“Toga was one of the first companies to join us and it’s a good, all-round hire business,” said Hire Network MD Barry Dean. “The quality of their kit is always excellent and the Park Royal team are often our first choice for enquiries in that area. Similarly, Concord’s St Neots depot provides a very good service supplying a variety of lifting and material handling equipment throughout East Anglia.”
The Award recognises consistently excellent service at an individual depot and the winner
will be announced at the Executive Hire Show.
CPA appoints Policy Manager
Chris Cassley has joined the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) team as Policy Manager. This is a new position, and the principal purpose of the role is to analyse external and internal influences on CPA policy and strategy.
Chris was previously employed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) for over 16 years. His most recent role was as Lead Policy Advisor for the EU Science and Innovation campaign, acting as the link between government, the EU and CBI members.
New MD for Morris Site Machinery
Morris Site Machinery has appointed Allan Binstead as its new MD. He was previously with Thermit Welding (GB) Ltd which manufactures bespoke products for rail, defence and specialist engineering markets.
“Joining at a time when the business has perhaps its strongest product range, an extensive and growing international footprint and a healthy UK sales pipeline into 2019 provides a stimulating challenge for me,” he said. “I intend to build on the current momentum bringing my experience and connections within the industries we serve, to take us forward again.”
Generator Power increases Western fleet
Specialist hirer, Generator Power, has taken delivery of 20 more Transcube tanks from Western Global. The consignment of 20TCG models, painted in the company’s corporate colour, brings the total added to the fleet to more than 200 over the past year.
The fleet comprises tanks from 1,000 litres to 20,000 litres, all from Western Global, to support the hirer’s large fleet of Atlas Copco generators.
Generator Power also recently re-located its central Scotland depot from Shotts to a large facility in Bellshill. MD Stephen Cardwell says the new location will enhance service to customers across the region.
Genair targets low-emission London
Genair, a West Midlands-based hirer specialising in the supply of advanced compressed air systems, has added 30 new mobile diesel compressors designed to comply with London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) regulations.
The LEZ is a traffic pollution charge scheme that aims to reduced exhaust gas emissions of diesel-powered commercial vehicles in the capital. The new machines, which are worth more than £1m, have been manufactured to Genair’s specifications and will be offered to construction firms operating in Greater London and throughout the country who need reduced air polluting equipment.
The company operates from three depots in Wednesbury, Motherwell and Slough, supplying equipment throughout the UK and overseas.
JCB secures major Travis Perkins order
Travis Perkins recently bought 500 JCB mini excavators and 1-tonne high-tip site dumpers said to be worth £7m for its Tool Hire division. This brings the company’s investment to more than 2,700 JCB machines in the past decade.
Supplied by dealer Watling JCB, the machines have been delivered to Travis Perkins’ network of 660 branches. Travis Perkins Tool Hire MD Catherine Gibson said, “As we continue to invest in our Tool Hire business it is important we work with suppliers who offer value for money and market-leading innovation for our customers.” .
AS A MATTER OF RECORD
As a matter of record, EHN would state that on page 8 of our April/May 2018 issue we published a news item we had received claiming that Mark Stuart, Commercial Director of Skelmersdale-based Stuart Energy Ltd, had been awarded an MBE. We now understand this story to have been an elaborate hoax, complete with a fabricated photograph.
We published this item in good faith and, although checks were made to verify this story, ultimately there has to be an element of trust in news coverage, and in business generally. It is disappointing then that, in future, we will obviously need to ensure that even more robust measures are in place. |
