“What’s a choke?”
30 June 2020
That’s the question a baffled customer asked a hirer recently.
He was picking up the four-stroke brush cutter he had ordered online to tackle some heavy vegetation while he was fu…
News for Tool Hire, Equipment Hire & Plant Hire and Rental Professionals
Previous Posts - June 2020
Bob Williams leaves Belle
30 June 2020
Today Bob Williams, Altrad Belle’s UK & Eire Sales Manager, is leaving the company after 37 years’ dedicated service to the business and to the hire industry.
Bob, a well…
CPA discusses the recovery
29 June 2020
The type of economic revival that we might expect following the pandemic was amongst topics discussed in a webinar organised by the CPA (Construction Plant-hire Association) on 26 June, under…
"Spend, spend, spend"
27 June 2020
Exactly a week ago I posted a blog item summarising a story in The Times about a speech the prime minister is expected to make outlining the government’s plans to re-launch the economy.<…
Business boost for Dorset
26 June 2020
Dorset Hire Services reports strong business levels and is confident about future prospects. This is largely due to the positive way in which staff have responded during the pandemic and becau…
Green cycles
25 June 2020
Green technology is expected to become even more prominent in the ‘new normal’ as people find eco-friendly alternatives to traditional equipment.
One specialist hirer is alr…
Into the Mist with Trime
24 June 2020
Trime is well-known for its mobile lighting towers, which would normally be a common sight at festivals and summer events. While activity has continued in sectors like construction and road bu…
Speedy stays confident
23 June 2020
Speedy Hire states that revenues are recovering as customers return to work following the Covid-19 lockdown.
Its results for the year ended 31 March 2020 show that Group revenue increase…
10 reasons to be positive
22 June 2020
As we get set for another busy week, here are 10 reasons why I think the industry should take heart and stay positive:
1. History shows that a downturn can help the hire industry. Contr…
Say Y.E.S. to the challenge
22 June 2020
The Scottish government has been very cautious in lifting the lockdown. As the aim of this blog is to provide a record of the Covid-19 pandemic and the hire industry’s response, I’…
“Build, build, build”
20 June 2020
There’s a striking article in The Times this morning, hinting at some significant developments concerning the Covid-19 restrictions in the next fortnight.
It suggests that the gov…
Obart’s twin teams
19 June 2020
Obart Pumps realised how serious the Covid-19 pandemic was very early on the crisis.
Sadly, Heros Speroni, the Italian entrepreneur who co-founded the pump manufacturer, Speroni SpA, di…
Rural renaissance
19 June 2020
Having to work from home and not being able to travel during the lockdown (unless your name happens to be Dominic Cummings) has made people re-evaluate their work/life balance.
Many are…
Mobile Mini in big demand
18 June 2020
You might say that Mobile Mini has really been thinking outside the box. This nationwide hirer of secure containers and site accommodation has found its fleet in demand for the Co…
Carry that weight
18 June 2020
How’s this for Great British engineering innovation?
Mace Industries, known for its compact conveyors, has found instant success with Mace Muscles, a completely new range of fitnes…
Ship-shape Shindaiwa
17 June 2020
When I called Andy Munford, Managing Director of Shindaiwa Ltd, he was in buoyant mood. He had just clinched a significant order following the first of a series of demonstrations that the comp…
Bradfords stays busy
16 June 2020
Bradfords Tool Hire, together with its parent builders’ merchant business Bradfords Building Supplies, decided to remain open throughout the lockdown. Its senior management team had plan…
ARA’s Essential programme
16 June 2020
I was recently able to watch a live webcast run by the American Rental Association (ARA) to promote its new training initiative called “Clean. Safe. Essential”, which has bee…
Hard-working Himoinsa
15 June 2020
The power that is running equipment at many of the drive-through test centres and NHS Nightin…
No queues for Miles
12 June 2020
The British have a reputation for queuing patiently. When Ikea re-opened some of its stores recently, images filled the media showing long lines of people snaking across the car parks, waiting…
CBI lays out recovery plan
12 June 2020
There is obviously much debate about the nature of the economic recovery once a semblance of normality has been restored post-pandemic.
It is a sobering prospect. The Organisation for Ec…
The Hireman helps the NHS
11 June 2020
The main reason for the unprecedented national lockdown from 23 March was to restrict the spread of the coronavirus and protect the NHS.
Many businesses responded immediately by donatin…
Sales skills for 'goats'
11 June 2020
The government’s Job Retention Scheme currently pays 80% of an employee’s wages, up to £2,500 a month, if they can’t work because of the impact of the coronavirus.…
Zoom boom
10 June 2020
I’m old enough to remember when a Zoom was a rocket-shaped ice lolly with raspberry, strawberry and banana flavoured sections. Mmm.
For many people today, however, Zoom means the…
“Outstanding industry”
10 June 2020
Figures quoted recently in the Roadmap to Recovery document published by the Construction Leadership Council suggest that the construction industry is worth some £413 billion, or 8.6% of…
Keeping customers updated
9 June 2020
A longer post, this time. That’s because I’m writing about no fewer than ten national hirers and the measures they’re taking to help customers to stay safe and do business du…
Darkness falls at Blue Sky
9 June 2020
I was very sorry indeed to learn that Blue Sky Event Hire has decided to close down because of the current crisis. This hard-working Skipton-based business had earned an excellent reputation f…
Euro Towers on the up
8 June 2020
Euro Towers is just one of the many manufacturers that have successfully restarted production following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
MD Roger Verallo tells me that the aluminium…
Network opportunities
8 June 2020
The Hire Network, which specialises in nationwide re-hire, found that skips were in high demand almost as soon as the lockdown started.
“Many people who were furloughed were getti…
Alide meets demand
7 June 2020
Alide Hire Services is another company that is seeing business activity pick up following the easing of lockdown restrictions.
“On 23 March, we closed our three depots in Bristol,…
Back to work with HSC
5 June 2020
At last, more shops and offices are getting back to work in England. Open-air markets and car showrooms were given the green light to re-open from 1 June, and non-essential shops should be abl…
Don't forget the furloughed
5 June 2020
I don’t think I’d ever heard of the word ‘furloughed’ before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, of course, everyone’s aware of it.
The government’s unprecede…
Nixons get their work done
4 June 2020
Many people have had to adapt to different ways of working and daily routines during the Covid-19 crisis, and Graham Nixon, MD of Nixon Hire, is a typical example.
When I rang him recen…
Carry on camping
4 June 2020
Planned your summer holidays yet? No, neither have I, and the prospect currently seems unlikely given social distancing requirements and, for overseas travellers, the likelihood of 14 days' qu…
Urgent need for Hogs
3 June 2020
You’ll doubtless recall that initial fears of a long-term pandemic led to panic buying and shortages of commodities like pasta, soap and, even, toilet rolls. Now that the lockdown is eas…
Welcome!
2 June 2020
My world changed on Friday 13 March. Although it had been carefully pre-planned. After 20 years as Editor of the industry’s leading tools, equipment and small plant hire magazine, I was…
MD’s adaptable approach
1 June 2020
When I phoned Matt Dolan I was delighted to hear that his new hire business in Warrington is flourishing, despite the pandemic.
He only launched the appropriately named MD Tool Hire &…
Hilti’s strong support
1 June 2020
Hilti has a reputation for innovation and it has been successfully using the latest online technology to maintain its operations.
Indeed, when I called Walid Hussain, Head o…
Beavers being busy
1 June 2020
According to online reference sources, beavers are second only to humans in their extraordinary ability to change the environment in which they live. That makes Beaver Tool Hire very aptly nam…
Up to the test
1 June 2020
I enjoyed a wide-ranging conversation with a very busy Phil Leahy about Sunbelt Rental UK’s magnificent response during the Covid-19 crisis.
He’s MD Rental Solutions South fo…
Rocket communications
1 June 2020
Regular contact between hirer and customer is important for smooth business running, but the Covid-19 response has led to some instances of disruption and uncertainty.
Simon Tomblin, MD…
GAP maintains its drive
1 June 2020
Living in Scotland as I do, I know first-hand that the lockdown restrictions have remained in place longer here than south of the border. Business re-openings were delayed and travel severely…
Online boost for Altrad Belle
1 June 2020
What would we do without the Internet? People can work remotely, send emails, do schoolwork online, stream TV and listen to music. And they can go shopping.
Ray Neilson, MD of Altrad Bel…