Martin Plant hits 50
31 January 2024
Martin Plant Hire recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The Scottish independent hire business marked the 8 January anniversary with a celebratory dinner attended by staff and suppliers at the GHK Rugby stadium in Glasgow, with two guest speakers: former Celtic footballer Des McKeown and comedian Des Clarke (shown below).
The business was founded by the late industry legend Jimmy Martin who had previously worked for Power Plant Hire in Glasgow. The original premises – which the company outgrew quickly – were located on a site close to where the SECC complex is today.
“It started with just ten Stihl saws and two bottle green-coloured Mini vans with orange stripes,” today’s MD Andy Martin, Jimmy’s son, told me. “The vehicles were a cancelled order for someone else so they were bought at a good price and were certainly distinctive.”
The business grew rapidly to serve construction professionals and tradespeople. More depots were opened, including sites in Edinburgh and at Motherwell to serve the former mighty Ravenscraig steelworks. By the start of the new millennium Martin Plant had 16 locations throughout Scotland.
The recession following the 2008 credit crisis led to the closure of some depots. More recently, leases on certain locations have not been renewed because of their proximity to other branches, and the company currently operates out of seven sites.
“The original operating model used to be having depots of around 3,000 sq ft with good yard space, but that has now changed to having sites of about double the size holding more equipment,” said Andy. “With better transport links today, we can cover larger areas from each facility.”
Andy joined the family business as a Director in January 1995, having previously worked in advertising, sales and marketing. One of the reasons was to ensure the independent business remained so, having aroused the attention of acquisitive hire companies south of the border.
Andy became MD in 2003 when Jimmy Martin became Chairman; Jimmy passed away in 2013.
Over the years, the business has added divisions to serve specific emerging markets including welding, lifting, training, concreting and access, as well as a HireHub one-call activity.
Diversification was also behind the company’s licensing agreement signed with the easyHire franchise in January 2021 to create easyToolhire Scotland, serving customers north of the border. The easyHire digital platform allows tradespeople and DIY users to place business online.
Joe Malcolm, Operations Director at Martin Plant Hire, said that demand from furloughed people boomed during the Covid lockdowns and led to significant online business. This trend is continuing as more homeowners consider undertaking building and landscaping tasks themselves to save money, rather than using a contractor.
Indeed, a new version of the company’s website will be launched shortly with enhanced online sales, ordering and account management capabilities.
The business has continued to invest in its equipment fleet, with recent purchases including additions to the company’s Kubota, JCB and Sany excavator line-up including machines up to 3 tonnes, Forst 8in wood chippers, Slanetrac tracked dumpers and the aluminium tower fleet is being switched over to Boss equipment from Werner.
Martin Plant Hire has also embarked on the route to Net Zero. “We already have ISO 9002 quality accreditation and we should achieve ISO 14001 relating to environmental management by the summer,” said Andy.
“We are looking at measures like installing solar panels on depot roofs, rainwater harvesting and energy saving initiatives. There is obviously a cost but it should save us a small fortune in the long run.
“We have installed Trime wash bays at some depots which recycle water from plant cleaning operations, and our delivery vehicle fleet comprises Euro 6 compliant models, while our company cars are increasingly plug-in hybrids or full electric vehicles.”
