Why summer could be busy

15 February 2021

Booked your summer holiday? No, I thought not. But while it’s frustrating to put such plans on hold while we tackle the coronavirus, there is a silver lining.

Like last year, it is very likely that many people will holiday at home and invest the money they would have spent instead on house and garden improvements. And that’s great news for hirers.  

That’s certainly what Daren Hare, managing director of Hares Hire Services in Rainham, believes. 

“I think the domestic and homeowner market will be strong again this year as people get projects done,” he tells me. “As a result, we are thinking of adding our first mini excavators to our fleet, after experiencing more re-hire demand. 

“Covid has made planning ahead challenging and you’ve just got to deal with what’s in front of you. But we’re busy.

“The compact access market is still a strong one for us. We mainly run Snorkel machines and we added our first units around five years ago. By now, the earliest ones have earned more than twice what they cost.” 

Overall, besides the core tool and equipment fleet, Hares Hare has more than 150 access machines of several makes in its fleet, ranging from manually operated Peco lifts to 10m Haulotte Star 10 models. 

Daren says that the company is able to get a good rate on the machines. And typical customers include electricians, store fitters and contractors in supermarkets, working in clean environments resulting in less wear and tear. 

“There’s definitely work out there. The big question is how much of it is genuinely new and not contracts that were ongoing or already planned before the lockdown. Having said that, we had a customer in today who’s started work on a new two-year, £30m project.” 

Daren also tells me that Hares Hire has added another fitter to the team to meet growing business levels. 

So while exotic holidays might be on temporary hold, the sun should still shine on the hire industry this summer.