Q&A: Murray Webster
21 May 2021
Murray Webster is MD of Webster Power Products in Wishaw, which has busy hire and sales divisions serving Scotland’s central belt and beyond. The business was founded by his parents in 1977.
How’s business?
It’s extremely busy, particularly serving homeowners and landscape contractors. In the last few years we have really grown the hire side of the business to combat increasing competition on sales from the internet. The margins are better and hire has always been much more fulfilling.
What products are in particular demand at the moment?
Micro and mini diggers. We have an all-Takeuchi fleet going up to 5 tonnes and they are always out on hire. We’ve also increased our fleet of JCB compact tracked dumpers. Landscapers are really busy working in domestic gardens, laying patios and installing artificial grass.
What have you added to the fleet recently?
Something that’s proved really popular is a Hinowa compact spider lift with a maximum 17m working height. We’ve actually bought a second and might add more. Again, they are popular with tree surgeons who come to us because we are also a local Stihl dealership. Other recent purchases include more generators from MHM up to 20kVA and Thwaites 1-tonne dumpers.
What are the main challenges facing the industry?
I think hirers have to be cautious about bad debts. One customer, a contractor doing interior fit-outs, recently demanded extra credit terms. I think some companies risk expanding too quickly during the upturn, or might face difficulties repaying bounceback loans.
Anything else?
Equipment shortages, although if people find they can’t source what they need easily, that should help hirers maintain decent rates.
And what are the biggest opportunities?
Again, if demand is high and supply of equipment limited, hirers should be able to maintain good margins. And we took advantage of the short period when it was quiet after the first lockdown last year to invest significantly in our fleet which has really paid off.
What’s the oddest or most challenging hire request you’ve ever received?
Years ago we supplied diamond drilling equipment to a contractor installing huge gutters on the roof of Glasgow’s Central Station. They wanted to hire something like a giant fishing net to catch the slugs as they fell from the drills. My father, John, made one in the workshop which worked brilliantly. The contract lasted two years and the net was on hire all that time.
What annoys/frustrates you?
Very occasionally we have people in the shop from outside the area who get really aggressive if we politely decline to serve them when their ID doesn’t check out or if they refuse to leave a deposit. Someone recently said they had ordered a turf cutter to collect but they clearly hadn’t, and then they spent ten minutes threatening our counter staff before driving off.
What happened?
We rang the police who, I have to say, acted very quickly. They chased after them and caught them. I am glad that the government has been highlighting the treatment of shop workers and office staff recently because this sort of behaviour is totally uncalled for and unacceptable.
What was your favourite school subject?
Geography.
How did you get into the industry?
My father started the business in 1975, originally as a retail operation, having previously been a boiler servicing engineer. He introduced hire in 1979 and his first piece of equipment was a Merry Tiller rotavator. My mother, Margaret, worked in the business and she would often also load vehicles with equipment. I helped in the shop at weekends and during school holidays, eventually joining full-time. I became MD 18 years ago.
If things had been different, what other career might you have chosen?
I would have joined the Royal Navy.
What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve ever been given, or that you would pass on to others?
The first question you should ask the customer is: what job are you doing? Then you can determine what they really need and what else they might not have thought about.
Do you follow a particular sport and/or team?
No, but I do like scuba diving, mainly in the UK but I’ve also been to Mexico and Norway. There are some great sites in Scotland, places like Oban, Orkney and Scapa Flow.
What new skill would you like to acquire?
I learned to fly helicopters ten years ago. I would like to do the ground school courses to become a commercial pilot or instructor. My last flight was taking a helicopter to be serviced in High Wycombe, shortly before the pandemic, to keep my flying hours up.
What’s the secret of success?
Sheer hard work. And remember that people always buy from people: the internet will never replace that.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
I’d buy a helicopter! A Eurocopter EC130 or a Westland Gazelle which is popular with the armed forces.
Finally, is there anything you would like to add about future plans?
At the moment it’s looking bright and I just hope the country continues to ride the wave out of the pandemic and back to normality. The recent stories on the blog like JCB stepping up production and employing more people are really encouraging. And the hire industry has the flexibility to quickly adopt new machines and explore new markets as trends emerge.
