Hire industry loses one of its greats

7 February 2022

I was saddened to hear that Brian Hartigan has passed away. Known to many in the industry, he was for ten years Commercial Director with HSS, which he joined in 1970, retiring in 2000.

Brian was No.2 to Lister Fielding, HSS’ legendary managing director, who tells me: 

“I first met Brian in 1988 when I joined HSS. He was very charismatic, with Irish ancestry and he had that gift of Irish charm about him. He was also very keen on the horses and that made me a little suspicious of him – I wondered whether he might prove a little unreliable. But nothing could be more wrong: he was absolutely punctilious about everything. He was very supportive in helping me into the business. 

“There were several candidates for being my No.2 but Brian was the standout one. We built a business relationship based on mutual trust and he was a very safe pair of hands. 

“In those days, HSS was the leading tool hire business and we were growing very rapidly. We had to devise a strategy to achieve that and we did some very key things. For example, we never acquired a business, believing in organic growth. And Brian believed in the highest standards.” 

Former EHN Publisher, Robert Aplin, commented: “All in all, Brian was a good guy, very knowledgeable about the industry and an ideal No.2 to Lister.” 

In a profile article published on his retirement in 2000, Brian reflected on his career highlights. In addition to presiding over HSS’ growth from 28 depots in London to more than 400 worldwide at the time, he remembered supplying equipment in 1981 for a children's street party in London’s Oxford Street, prior to the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. “Afterwards, we were given two hours to re-open Oxford Street and we had it cleared in 100 minutes,” he recalled. 

He added, “Part of my contribution to HSS and, I would like to think, to the hire industry in general, was as an advocate of maintaining sensible hire rates.” 

Sincere condolences to Brian’s family.