Executive Hire News › Archives › September 2004 › Executive Report: Executive news
Executive Report : Executive news
Rapid Hire wins with Belle
Throughout 2004, Belle Group has been celebrating 40 years of concrete mixer production by placing special ‘birthday cards’ in every unit leaving its busy Derbyshire factory. These have then been returned to Belle, duly filled in with the owner’s details, for inclusion in a monthly draw for 40 bottles of beer. The campaign is now heading towards its conclusion when one of these winners will be chosen at random to scoop the main prize of a trip to New York.
The most recent monthly winner was Rapid Hire Centre based in Huddersfield, which has taken delivery of new Minimix 150 machines. Besides operating a fleet of 50 units across its three depots, the company reports excellent mixer sales, with approximately one per month going to local builders. Greg Wright, one of Rapid’s Branch Managers, comments that “Unlike the beer, Belle mixers go on for ever!”
GAP’s £8m fleet investment
In pursuit of maintaining its claim to have the youngest plant and tool fleet in the industry, GAP Group has recently placed orders in excess of £8m, including a £1m deal with Compair and a further £1.2m order with Oswald Record/Sullair. The main order included Benford dumpers and rollers, Bomag rollers, Kubota mini excavators, and dumpers from NK Lifton and Thwaites.
The Oswald Record/Sullair order included breakers and hydraulic power packs, which are supplied to all GAP depots. Ken Stewart, GAP’s Procurement Manager, states that “Oswald Record, in conjunction with Sullair, has offered us new-for-old breakers at favourable rates. We continue to work hard with our preferred suppliers and select those who can offer products which are technically innovative, reliable and offer excellent value for money.”
GAP reports steady expansion, with new depot openings planned for Maidstone, Colchester, Oxford, Gloucester, Brighton, Exeter and Central London during the next two years.
Training from Euro Towers
Euro Towers Ltd has appointed Jason Woods as its National Training Manager. The company’s Northampton headquarters include a dedicated training facility which will offer a wide range of PASMA and IPAF courses, as well as programmes covering the safe use of abrasive wheels, harnesses, ladders and steps. Courses can also be tailored to a company’s specific needs. Euro Towers points out that, under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER), employers must ensure that all operators of potentially dangerous equipment are adequately trained in safe operating procedures.
PRS chooses Kubota minis
PRS Hire Services, which operates in the East Midlands, has bought two of the latest compact Kubota mini excavators for its new Peterborough depot. The KX36-3 and K008-3 models join the other minis in the company’s all-Kubota fleet. Its Nottingham and Lincoln depots already operate Kubota machines.
PRS began as a tool hirer in 1980. Five years later it bought its first item of small plant, a Kubota KX36, after having it on trial from local dealer BTE Plant Sales. PRS Managing Director, Julian Bottomley, states that “we quickly realised its potential as a money earner and have continued to enlarge the fleet. We have stayed with Kubota because the sturdy machines are extremely versatile and give exactly what our customers are looking for.” PRS has opened the Peterborough depot because of the considerable housing and industrial development in the area.
Hewden wins major sole-supply contract
Hewden has been appointed by Churngold Construction as its sole supplier for plant, site accommodation and small tools. The contract is worth an estimated £1.5m per annum. It includes a call centre dedicated to Churngold, through which all orders from the group’s site personnel will be processed.
Andrew Bolton, Managing Director of Churngold, states that “We selected Hewden based on who we believed would be the best fit with our business in terms of service, the area covered and range of plant available.” The contract secures sole supplier status for Hewden Plant, Hewden Accommodation and Hewden Hire Centres. The equipment incorporated in the contract ranges from site offices and pneumatic drills to excavators and telehandlers.
John Whitby, Regional Director for Hewden, states that “This is one of the largest single sourcing contracts in our sector to date. We believe there will be an increasing extension of the partnership approach across the supply chain in the construction industry.”
Hire Station’s fundraising success
Staff and customers of Hire Station’s South Leicester branch raised more than £1,300 for Cancer Research UK in a prize draw during a charity open day. The event was supported by many manufacturers and suppliers including Hilti, DeWalt, Makita, Tyrolit and Ammann, whose technical experts gave advice on choosing products to do each job efficiently and safely.
The winning tickets were drawn from a cement mixer from the hire fleet. ‘With so many suppliers and customers under one roof, it seemed the perfect opportunity to raise money for charity,” commented Assistant Branch Manager, Craig Camp.
Jay Shepherd Memorial Golf Day details
The fifth Jay Shepherd Memorial Golf Day will take place at the Breadsall Priory Hotel & Country Club in Derbyshire on Monday, 27 September. It has been jointly co-ordinated by Mark Richards, Financial Director of The Hire Supply Company (UK) Ltd, and Gary Cooper, Group Procurement Director of Speedy Hire plc.
Mark Richards and Gary Cooper were both close friends and business associates of Jay Shepherd who passed away on 18 January 2000, at the age of only 34, leaving a wife and four children. Jay Shepherd was Managing Director of Hirepro Ltd.
In the previous four years, this Memorial Golf Day has raised over £25,000 for the Marie Curie Cancer Care, a charity that held special significance to Jay Shepherd after he lost his mother to cancer. This year the Golf Day is set to break the £30,000 barrier. To date, many leading hire industry suppliers and hirers including Belle, Bosch, Champion Hire, Cool Customers, Eurofloor, GenSet, Ingersoll Rand, liner Direct, Makita, Probst, Parker, Speedy, Takeuchi, Toolpak, Wacker, as well as boiler manufacturer, Vaillant, are all entering teams into the golf competition. Amongst the hole sponsors are Barreto Manufacturing, EHN, HAE, ITT Flygt and NatWest Bank.
Each team comprises four players, with a former professional footballer from teams including Liverpool, Everton, Nottingham Forest, Derby and Leicester joining each hire industry team of three. The event is being co-ordinated on the day by Gary Gillespie, former Liverpool star, who now runs his own event management company.
Don’t let that put you off, because the organisers promise that, after the round of golf, there is the evening meal and presentations to look forward to. The organisers are still looking for a couple of additional teams to enter, and sponsorship of various holes is still available.
Makita supports City & Guilds course
What is described as the first City & Guilds approved training course in the safe use of portable power tools has been developed by Makita and Jomaro Training. It will offer training to operators and owners of all makes of power tools in correctly selling up the machines and their safe use. Subjects covered include Health and Safety requirements, risk assessment, personal protective equipment and hand arm vibration syndrome.
The course attracts CITB grants for companies that are in scope of the CITB Levy. In addition, a series of Powerpoint presentations are available for training providers. Andrew Bowden, Makita’s Training Manager, states that “Jomaro are to establish a new training centre equipped with Makita power tools to increase our Milton Keynes capacity.”
Government to review ‘Red Diesel’ issue
EHN readers are well aware of the Red Diesel’ issue, which we first highlighted in March/April 2003. From August 2003, hire companies had to register with HM Customs & Excise under the Registered Dealers in Controlled Oil (RDCO) scheme to buy and sell red diesel. HAE says that, in conjunction with the CPA, it has been working with a Business Regulation Team from the Cabinet Office to review the situation. A meeting of the organisations is due this month to assess feedback from a cross-section of hirers, and the findings will eventually be presented to Customs & Excise.
Demon solves sticky problems
Demon International recently demonstrated a new method of street cleaning to Westminster City Council, which needed to remove chewing gum from pavements and sanitise them without chemicals that could damage the limestone paving. A Demon Cyclone 300SS trailer-mounted pressure washer, made exclusively for Nomix Enviro, a weedkiller supplier, was shown with the company’s Rotowash attachment for thorough cleaning with minimal over spray.
Demon used a chewing gum tool with hot water to break down unsightly marks, followed by the Rotowash, gradually increasing the pressure to avoid damage. The result was a clean pavement free of gum, oil and rubber residues. The Rotowash was able to clean up to the edges of the kerbstones owing to its two-position wheel design.
The Cyclone units give over an hour’s operating time on one fill and produce a noise level of only 71dBA.
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