Seddons barometer
23 August 2023
As a major equipment dealership that currently represents 27 well-known brands and offers more than 50,000 product lines across hire, construction, grounds care and other markets, Seddons Plant & Engineers is a good barometer for indicating industry trends and prospects.
David Probert, Seddons’ Business Development Director, believes that the corporate world generally will continue to react and adapt in the wake of the pandemic for some time yet.
“We still don’t know what the post-Covid ‘new normal’ will be,” he says. “For example, businesses are responding to issues like the demand for hybrid working and flexible employment as people seek a different work-life balance, and we don't yet know what the overall impact will be on demand for new office space.
“Over the past year or so, companies have seen the effect of interest rate increases, rising inflation and higher wages, but on the other hand many people are now on fixed-rate mortgages that will cushion the financial impact and enable them to keep spending as before.
“Equipment demand will continue to be fuelled by large projects like HS2, Hinkley Point and The Thames Tideway, and the grass will keep growing. However, suppliers have to be agile enough to adapt to changes like the shifting seasons. Pumps, for example, used to be considered as largely winter products, but demand is now year-round because of increasingly frequent extreme weather events. Suppliers must adapt in the same way that, say, clothing manufactures have to.”
David points out that the broad-based nature of Seddons’ equipment portfolio enables the company to react efficiently to such demands and opportunities, and that the diversity of the typical hire fleet gives hire companies similar flexibility, as along as they can respond effectively.
Seddons continues to experience strong demand for parts and spares as hirers extend the life of machines in their fleets. Again, this could be a by-product of the pandemic when supply chain disruptions led to shortages of new equipment and owners had to keep items longer, a trend which has continued.
“Hirers are also very skilled in tracking their assets in terms of running time, servicing and condition, and can plan replacement strategies carefully,” David says.
A product range that is currently experiencing very strong demand is Seddons’ own-brand Taskman pressure washers (pictured above). Models offer working pressures from 1500psi to 3000psi (100 bar to 200 bar) for light and heavy commercial applications, and include trailer-mounted versions as well as units with integral water bowsers.
“We are selling the Taskman machines as quickly as we can make them. One reason for the strong demand is the ongoing avian flu outbreak [mentioned previously on the blog] and the need for farmers to wash down buildings, premises and vehicles.
“More construction companies are adopting the ‘considerate contractor’ approach to keeping sites clean and dust-free, which is also recognition of the need to look after people’s health in the workplace. Perhaps this is another legacy of the pandemic,” says David.”
Seddons continues to explore new opportunities and we can expect to see even more additions to the company’s already extensive portfolio in the near future.
● Don't forget to explore the Site-Eco area of the blog for news of sustainable products and developments relevant to the world of hire.
