New Vertikal Days dates
28 February 2021
Vertikal Days, the popular lifting and access equipment event, has been postponed to 22 and 23 September.
This follows the UK government's announcement on easing lockdown restricti…
News for Tool Hire, Equipment Hire & Plant Hire and Rental Professionals
Previous Posts - February 2021
Q & A: Daren Hare
26 February 2021
Daren Hare is managing director of the busy independent Hares Hire Services in Essex. He founded the operation in 2005 in Upminster and the business moved to its current facility at Rainham in…
Speedy set for lift-off
26 February 2021
Yet more positive news about hirers expanding in 2021 comes from Speedy, which has announced a new specialist hoisting division.
The company says that it has initially invested £1.…
Sunbelt on track with Trime
25 February 2021
Sunbelt Rentals UK’s specialist Rail business has added Trime UK’s X-Chain LED lighting towers to its fleet.
Six of the new machines were immediately put to use on a tr…
Are you cybersecure?
25 February 2021
There’s no denying that lockdown restrictions have accelerated trends like transacting business on-line and working more from home. However, this also raises certain risks associated wit…
GGR appoints Sat Dhaiwal
24 February 2021
GGR Group, which supplies and hires compact pick and carry cranes, mini spider cranes and restricted access lifting machinery, has appointed Sat Dhaiwal as chairman. He has been a board adviso…
On the rails
24 February 2021
An earlier blog post on the site reported how the rail industry recognises the importance of adopting environmentally-friendly work practices throughout its operations and supply chains.
Good news treble
23 February 2021
Yesterday’s blog post focused on tool and plant hirers maintaining an optimistic outlook about the post-lockdown recovery. No sooner had I uploaded it than a string of good news stories…
Two significant dates
23 February 2021
While it was described as a roadmap out of lockdown, and by the prime minister himself as a “one-way road to freedom”, Boris Johnson’s plan to restore public and economic hea…
Look beyond lockdown
22 February 2021
We will know more later today about the proposed path to something like normality and its likely duration when Boris Johnson announces his much anticipated ‘road map’ for easing th…
Q & A: Neil Bravery
19 February 2021
Neil Bravery is MD of Skipton Hire Centres (SHC) and has a fascinating CV. In 1989 he started work at Amtool Hire in Kent, acquired by Brandon Tool Hire in 1992. He later moved to the north of…
MHM meets power surge
18 February 2021
The unpredictable trajectory of the pandemic has made it equally difficult for businesses to plan for an uncertain future in terms of long-term demand and appropriate fleet investment.
Sunbelt Heathrow takes off
18 February 2021
Sunbelt Rentals’ new Heathrow hub depot is something of a flagship. It reflects the company’s aim to combine the services of a specialist serving niche markets with the ability to…
Makita boxes clever
17 February 2021
It’s probably more for retail than hire, but one of Makita’s latest additions to its cordless equipment line-up shows once again the diversity of equipment that can be run off batt…
Hogs on stage
17 February 2021
I was recently given a preview of Genquip Groundhog’s latest initiative to promote its welfare products to a wider audience, at a time when large-scale demonstrations and exhibitions are…
Hireman’s lateral thinking
16 February 2021
London-based independent, The Hireman, has acted quickly to benefit from coronavirus lateral flow tests for its staff, which are now becoming more widely available. Rapid testing facilities ar…
Why summer could be busy
15 February 2021
Booked your summer holiday? No, I thought not. But while it’s frustrating to put such plans on hold while we tackle the coronavirus, there is a silver lining.
Like last year, it is…
easy choice for Martin Plant
12 February 2021
The easyHire franchise network, part of the easyGroup that also includes easyJet, has landed in the UK. Martin Plant Hire has signed a licensing agreement to create easyToolhire Scotland servi…
Q & A: Simon Whitfield
12 February 2021
Simon Whitfield is managing director of HALT Hire in Stockton-on-Tees. He started his career with Vibroplant (later Vp) in 1997 and went on to work in its UK Forks and Airpac Bukom divisions.…
Formidable Formwork
11 February 2021
Currently celebrating its tenth anniversary year, Knowsley-based Formwork Direct International has established itself as a specialist hirer and seller of concrete formwork and related products…
EHS postponed to 2022
10 February 2021
The 2021 Executive Hire Show has been postponed until February 2022. This is due to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 restrictions on staging events.
This year’s exhibition had alread…
Payback time
10 February 2021
The government introduced financial support measures early on to help businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which have been a lifeline for many.
One is the Coron…
Go with the Flow
9 February 2021
Given the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as flooding, it’s timely that Obart Pumps has introduced a branded range of pump accessories and fittings.
Called Fit&…
Sustainable Speedy
8 February 2021
Signalling again the importance of providing environmentally-friendly equipment, Speedy has announced today that its chief operating officer has joined the Supply Chain Sustainability School b…
GAP gets set to invest
8 February 2021
On the first day of the New Year, I suggested several reasons for maintaining a positive outlook, not least because many hirers had plans to expand.
Since then, I have posted a number of…
Q & A: Gary McWilliam
5 February 2021
Gary McWilliam is managing director of The Hire Supply Company (HSC) which is based in Nottingham and has another large distribution warehouse and team serving Greater London. It is one of the…
Mixed building figures
5 February 2021
After seven consecutive months of growth, UK construction output showed a marginal decline in January, according to the monthly figures from the PMI survey compiled by IHS Markit for the Chart…
Smiths gives a Kickstart
4 February 2021
Smiths Equipment Hire is taking part in the government’s Kickstart initiative which aims to help combat increasing job losses and the economic uncertainty created by the pandemic.
…
Grab all opportunities
3 February 2021
I had an interesting conversation with a hirer recently whose in-depth knowledge of his customers, industry awareness and a can-do attitude is enabling him to find additional retail opportunit…
Look out for UFOs
2 February 2021
The construction of renewable energy infrastructure is creating demand for Kooi, a Netherlands-based supplier of remote CCTV and security monitoring facilities.
Founded ten years ago by…
Grounds for growth
1 February 2021
A shift from plant hire towards the ground care hire market has paid dividends for an Exeter-based business.
Chipper Hire (SW) was established in 2015 and now offers much more than wood…