Phenomenal Phoenix

23 July 2020

General trading conditions might be challenging and the economic future unpredictable, but I continue to talk to hirers who are bucking the trend.

Gary Derraven, Chairman of Phoenix Hire and Sales, tells me that turnover for March was a record for the business, which has depots in Bridgend, Cardiff, Cwmbran, Pontypridd and Swansea (pictured above).

“Business levels dropped like a stone in April following the lockdown, and we were worried about what the impact of the virus would be. But then in May things really picked back up and June trading levels ended up just a fraction below March.

Construction projects

“Demand for equipment like mixers and compaction plates is just off the chart. It’s phenomenal. People have been doing projects in their homes and gardens. All our 1-tonne dumpers are also out at the moment. And construction customers are now back to where they were before the outbreak.

“Demand from the DIY sector might slow a bit as more people return to work, but our core market is construction and should be very resilient. The government recently committed to ‘build, build, build,’ with no return to austerity. The only cloud on the horizon is if there is a major second wave of the virus,” Gary adds.

Phoenix continues to develop and will shortly appoint a Compliance Manager. The business now has 80 personnel, and they will co-ordinate internal training in areas like Health & Safety and customer service.

Satellite depots planned

“We want to grow from within and develop our own people,” says Gary. “We plan to open satellite depots to extend our reach. We could have up to three per location, each with two members of staff and a basic fleet of, say, 50 core items for collection.

“Deliveries, servicing and requests for larger machines would continue to be handled by the ‘mother’ depots.

“We will train all staff to manufacturers’ standards on the products we offer and the Compliance Manager will ensure that we are operating to the same high standards throughout our depot network.

Local coverage

“I believe that the mother/satellite model is ideal for giving good local coverage. We have identified the locations we want and each premises would be around 3,000 square feet. We aim to open the first at the end of our financial year, around March.”

Phoenix offers training at the Pontypridd depot, and this activity will shortly be relocating to dedicated premises just 300 yards from the current building. This will also accommodate Phoenix’s survey and safety equipment hire operation.

“We have adapted the training room to ensure social distancing,” says Gary. “We have changed the boardroom-style layout, where trainees sat round one large table, and now have separate desks. We have also added facilities like hand sanitiser dispensers.

“We will also use the facility to train our own personnel, including new starters that we recruit for the satellite depots. In addition, having the new dedicated building will give more space for tools and equipment at the main Pontypridd outlet.”