News for Tool Hire, Equipment Hire & Plant Hire and Rental Professionals

Instant results

16 December 2020

Instant results

Instant Tool & Plant Hire has certainly made rapid progress since its formation just a year ago.

Starting with modest premises in Crewe, during the summer it bought and re-branded Castle Tool Hire, a long-established operation in Newcastle-under-Lyme and it now supplies a wide range of equipment to a growing customer base.

It is underpinned by a commitment to responsive, round-the-clock service.

The business was formed by Andy Macartney and his wife Joanne. They previously worked for 20 and 15 years respectively with a large family-owned vehicle rescue and emergency response business in Stoke.

Andy managed a fleet of several hundred vehicles covering the southern half of the country. When the business was sold in 2019, he looked for another opportunity.

“I have a friend who bought a tool hire business many years ago, essentially to supply equipment for his own steel fabrication and construction business because he had found it difficult to get machines he needed quickly and reliably,” Andy told me.  

“I realised that hire is similar to vehicle rescue and recovery. You’re providing a service, managing vehicles, equipment and personnel, and serving demanding customers. We are from a true 24/7 background, operating round the clock. We believed that we could apply that approach to a hire operation.”

At the start of 2020, Instant Tool & Plant Hire found basic premises in Crewe and assembled its equipment fleet, including approximately £500,000 worth of machinery from JCB delivered in March. But then, of course, lockdown hit.

However, Andy had previously assessed a number of tool hire companies to buy in order to assist its entry into the market. He had experience of acquisitions with the vehicle recovery business.

“I had cross-hired some equipment from Castle Tool Hire and eventually discovered that the owner was considering retiring. We bought the business in August.”

The Newcastle-under-Lyme depot now serves as Instant’s main location, with the Crewe premises being used largely to store seasonal items. And the company serves customers seven days a week.

“Sometimes, Sundays are as busy as a weekday in supplying equipment,” said Andy. “Many small builders do weekend projects and home owners often want to take advantage of unexpectedly good weather to get tasks done.

“We’ve invested significantly in new kit, vehicles, plant trailers and branded workwear. We wanted to ensure our image was right from the very start. We have spent a lot on branding to raise our profile and

“And if we haven’t got an item in stock, we are prepared to buy it for the fleet. Our background is that we never say no: when we worked with the recovery business, if a lorry had gone off the M6 and into a canal, we had to mobilise support and deal with it.”

Equipment in the fleet includes JCB excavators and dumpers up to 3.5 tonnes, scissor lifts, access booms, HSC heaters and lighting, Altrad Belle mixers, John Deere compact tractors, and power tools from Hilti, Makita and Stihl.

Instant Tool & Plant Hire is already looking to expand. Andy says he is currently in discussions about two potential acquisitions and would like to have established six locations within five years.

Instant results
Instant results

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