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Y.E.S. celebrates 10 years

6 June 2022

Y.E.S. celebrates 10 years

Your Equipment Solutions (Y.E.S.) based in Falkirk is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Prior to establishing the award-winning business in 2012, managing director David Johnstone was northern divisional managing director of HSS. I sat down with David recently to talk about the last decade, current activities and future plans. 

Why did you start the business? 

I’d always wondered what it would be like to run your own hire business. Previously I had always worked for other people, first with PB Hire which was acquired by HSS and I was with them for 24 years. Y.E.S. has grown steadily and I’m proud that we currently employ 25 people. 

What were the main challenges? 

Obviously resources were limited when we established the business, originally in Grangemouth, and we kept a tight control on capex. We re-hired some equipment initially and grew steadily. An unexpected challenge came in 2013 when there was a strike at the Ineos oil and petrochemical facility in Grangemouth. That reinforced the importance of not having all your eggs in one basket in terms of customers and the markets you serve. We’ve always been broadly based and we came through. 

Any particular highlights? 

There is always an element of luck in business. In 2013, a major contractor was working nearby on the project to construct the massive horse-head shaped Kelpies sculptures. They desperately needed a cut-off saw to replace one hired from someone else that had broken down. We delivered one instantly and this gave us an opportunity to supply equipment to the site for the next two years, and they have used us ever since on projects throughout Scotland. 

Also, we moved to our current premises in Falkirk in 2017. At first we thought we were being too ambitious: it has 50,000 sq feet of space between the unit and yard, and we’ve expanded the fleet so much since that we could now do with more! 

The company also supports the local community, doesn’t it? 

Yes it does and that is something I am passionate about and is always at the forefront of our minds. When there was an unexpected gas outage in the area in the depths of winter in December 2019, we supplied all the heaters in our fleet to local people free of charge over the weekend when it happened. There were old, ill and vulnerable people who, as a result, were able to keep warm. We obviously knew that on Monday the phones would be ringing with hire requests for the machines, but it was more important that we helped the community rather than generate income. 

We’re also helping to start a hardship fund with a local charity to offer support to worthy causes, and have supported them in previous years by providing meals and gifts at Christmas to underprivileged families.

Looking back, would you have done anything differently? 

No, not really. You do tend to take issues more personally when they affect your company but in truth most of the circumstances are just the nature of business in general regardless of who the owner is!

What advice would you give someone else starting a hire business? 

Providing consistently excellent service is key – never be complacent. And be selective about who you deal with: do your research and credit checks to determine their payment history. You want to help people if you can but you have to be careful. And with the prices of construction materials and fuel spiralling, some contractors might find themselves under financial pressure. 

Do you have any 10th Anniversary celebration plans?

Absolutely. The entire team are going to Hamilton Races on July 30 and we’re planning to do a charity cycle event later, as well as some other promotions. Also, everyone in the company received a very significant bonus and gift vouchers. Since I started the business I have always said, “If the business does well, everyone involved will benefit.” This is critical to our continued success: our staff make our business.

I also look forward to sharing some exciting plans for additional growth at Y.E.S. in the near future… Watch this space! 

Photo: Alan Guthrie

 


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