Strong year-end plant sales
29 January 2021
Statistics released today show that UK sales of construction and earthmoving equipment continued their strong recovery at the end of 2020.
Figures from the construction equipment statis…
News for Tool Hire, Equipment Hire & Plant Hire and Rental Professionals
Previous Posts - January 2021
Q & A: Ryan Miles
29 January 2021
Ryan Miles is a Director of the award-winning independent Miles Hire. With its headquarters in Swansea, the business has other depots in Cardiff, Bridgend and Newport, and there are plans for…
Hybrid booms for Speedy
29 January 2021
Here’s yet another story that shows the growing interest in green technology. Speedy Powered Access has expanded its fleet of low-emission equipment with a £2m investment in 50 new…
How to turn green
28 January 2021
In several of the popular Q and A articles here on the site, interviewees have said that they believe the next big opportunity in hire is the demand for green products.
An excellent CPA…
“Solid recovery” predicted
27 January 2021
Many hirers I speak to tell me they are experiencing delays in sourcing some equipment from their regular suppliers and being quoted long lead times.
It’s an understandable situati…
HALT on track for growth
26 January 2021
Stockton-on-Tees was where the first rail of George Stephenson’s historic Stockton and Darlington Railway was installed. And you could certainly say that local independent, HALT Hire, is…
Test and trace in hire
26 January 2021
We’ve all become familiar with the term ‘test and trace’ since the start of the pandemic, but it can also be applied to competently managing equipment hire fleets.
MCA…
Stronger than before
25 January 2021
Markets like the event industry have been severely impacted by restrictions to control the coronavirus, and companies who normally serve these sectors have faced the major challenge of finding…
MD’s flood response
22 January 2021
MD Tool Hire & Sales of Warrington is typical of the many hirers that have been involved in supplying equipment to premises affected by the severe flooding that has hit several parts of th…
Q & A: Amy Gilbert
22 January 2021
Amy Gilbert is a Director of Site Equip, a specialist hirer of portable sanitation equipment serving the south of England. She has worked in every area of the family-owned business, which has…
Morris stocks up
22 January 2021
Morris Site Machinery has announced a significant £4m investment in stock of some of its most popular machines to meet both on-going demand and interest in Stage IIIa compliant equipment…
JCB Finance milestone
21 January 2021
JCB Finance reports that it has delivered more than £50m of loans to businesses in the construction industry to lessen the impact of the pandemic.
The money has been distributed th…
All about growth
21 January 2021
I’ve mentioned several times before on the blog that the grounds care market has proved buoyant since the first lockdown. Landscapers realised they could continue working safely outdoors…
Certainly not Steptoe’s yard
20 January 2021
“Who knows what’s going to happen in the next few months?”
That’s what Brett Thompson, managing director of Alide Hire Services told me when we did the interview…
Vaccination in a box
19 January 2021
The coronavirus vaccine programme is the largest operation of its kind in British history. The aim is to immunise at least 2 million people per week at more than 2,700 sites across the UK.
Follow the rules
18 January 2021
To reduce the spread of coronavirus, people have been asked to stay at home wherever possible and to avoid unnecessary social contact. But there is much debate about whether the rules are bein…
Shades of green
18 January 2021
How green is green? Or to put it another way, how many businesses are really serious about becoming more environmentally friendly?
In a recent blog post, I mentioned the laudable green…
Q & A: David Johnstone
15 January 2021
David Johnstone is managing director of the busy award-winning independent hirer Y.E.S. (Your Equipment Solutions) based in Falkirk. Prior to establishing the business in 2012, he was northern…
Low-emissions focus
15 January 2021
Further indicating the potential of environmentally-friendly machinery in the hire industry, Briggs & Stratton has made a new appointment to focus on this area.
Johannes Böhlau…
Smooth results from WD-40
14 January 2021
WD-40 is one of those iconic brands. Many homeowners and professionals use it for loosening rusted metal parts and repelling moisture from electrical components.
Apparently, it’s…
Redpath on the rise
13 January 2021
Redpath Tool Hire continues to expand, having added a significant new product line to its fleet and the business has plans for more depots to complement its location at Duns in the Scottish Bo…
People and places
12 January 2021
Although a third lockdown was imposed last week, the UK government is concerned that people are not complying with regulations such as social distancing as closely as they did last March.
<…
One Stop has Lift-off
12 January 2021
One Stop Hire has expanded its operation with the launch of a Lifting Services division. The new activity’s first depot is in Newton-le-Willows, and situated at the company’s non-m…
New Hillhead Digital dates
11 January 2021
The popular Hillhead plant exhibition is again adapting to the challenges imposed by the pandemic.
Following consultation with exhibitors and speakers, its new Hillhead Digital initiati…
Q & A: Ray Neilson
8 January 2021
Today’s interview is with Ray Neilson, managing director of Altrad Belle. Ray joined the original Belle business back in 2001 and before then had been operations director with another ic…
CPA seeks Stars
8 January 2021
It will be the height of summer when the CPA’s Stars of the Future apprentice and trainee awards for 2021 are presented – so that’s a pleasing prospect to look forward to as…
House building healthy
7 January 2021
Figures released today show that the house building market remained healthy in December – which is more good news for hirers.
The UK Construction PMI survey compiled by IHS Markit…
On the green track
7 January 2021
While some railway announcements cause concern or consternation, like delays caused by leaves on the line or the wrong sort of snow, news from Network Rail a month or so ago struck a significa…
Tufftruk developments
6 January 2021
Expect to see new products from Tufftruk during 2021.
The Staffordshire-based manufacturer of walk-behind mini dumpers recently promoted general manager Andrew Simpson (pictured right)…
Drill deep with Makita
6 January 2021
Here’s something we can look forward to in 2021: Makita UK says it plans to unveil a good number of new products in the coming months.
Mark Earles, the company’s business de…
Back to square one? No
5 January 2021
While the exact timing and haste of Boris Johnson’s announcement of a third national lockdown were surprising – it was given at 8pm yesterday, the first day back at work in England…
Smiths does a treble
4 January 2021
In my blog post on New Year’s Day, I highlighted the fact that a number of hirers have exciting growth plans for 2021, which is really positive news.
One of these companies is Smi…
New year, new opportunities
1 January 2021
So here we are. Welcome to 2021, which seemed so far away when the March lockdown was announced.
What might we expect? For fear of sounding trite, one thing is certain: uncertainty. Deb…