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Profile: Wizard Tool Hire Wizard’s magic start A new tool and equipment hire business aims to make rapid progress. Alan Guthrie visited its headquarters in Alfreton. The main factor behind the creation of Wizard Tool Hire is to service the substantial equipment requirements of its parent company. It is a subsidiary of Chek Whyte Industries, which is named after its founder and includes the businesses of TFD Midlands, TFD Wakefields and Whytehall Homes. The CWI group specialises in all aspects of construction and related services, including cladding, electrical work, plumbing, demolition and maintenance. The group was spending more than £400,000 annually on hiring tools and machinery, and formulated plans to bring this operation in-house. The idea became more tangible following a chance meeting last September between Chek Whyte and John Cox, who has more than 25 years’ hire industry experience. In the early 1980s he established Sheriff Tool Hire, a division of Nottingham-based Sheriff Plant, eventually creating a network of approximately 30 depots throughout the Midlands and northern England. The business was eventually acquired by A-Plant. John Cox also set up Sheriff’s access equipment operation. He left in 1995 and held other senior posts in access and lifting equipment hire companies. Exciting opportunity “It was very exciting to have another opportunity to start a new hire business from scratch,” states John Cox, who is Wizard’s Managing Director. “I formulated a business plan and we decided to go ahead. TFD Midlands, which was previously based in Nottingham, had already acquired one of the former Courtaulds offices and factory buildings in Alfreton to relocate its head office, and there was plenty of space for a separate tool hire operation. We had a blank sheet of paper and were able to design the premises exactly how we wanted them. We have more than 6,000ft2 of warehouse space, 1,000ft2 for our trade counter and offices, with a yard at the rear and a huge amount of parking space.” Wizard Tool Hire had its open day on 10 February when, amongst other guests, Roy Wood of the pop group Wizzard, was in attendance. The company officially opened for business three days later. Depot Manager John Bellamy has 15 years’ experience in tool hire and civil engineering, while Hire Desk Assistant Philip Penny has been involved in the industry for five years. “There are several other tool hire companies in the Alfreton area, but we believe we will succeed by employing more experienced, mature staff and by offering superior products and service,” contends John Cox. “If you have the right fleet and the right people, the relatively short payback periods, high utilisation and high residual equipment values mean that you should have a profitable business within two to three years. An item like a Stihl 12in disc cutter can be hired several times during one week at daily rates, thus decreasing payback to just a few months. Anything larger than a mini excavator involves more specialised servicing and more expensive running costs. “We have spent more than £350,000 on equipment for the fleet. We believe that Wizard will be able to supply TFD group companies with approximately 95% of their requirements. However, we have added other items, such as floor sanders, carpet cleaners and other tools and equipment for DIY users and homeowners. We are chiefly operating within a 15-20 mile radius of Alfreton, but there are opportunities to go farther afield. For example, one of the TFD group’s companies is involved in the construction of a central distribution depot in Stoke for the textile supplier, Dunelm, and we can offer Wizard’s equipment to sub-contractors and tradesmen working on sites like this.” ‘Family’ of key suppliers When choosing suppliers for the Wizard operation, John Cox concentrated on companies with a reputation for quality and efficient backup service. “Having not been directly involved in tool and equipment hire for several years, we found that EHN was a very helpful source of information regarding products and manufacturers. We have put together a ‘family’ of key suppliers. JCB compact plant, including the Micro, 802 and 8014 mini excavators were essential items, along with the company’s Dumpster tracked dumper/loader and Beaver hydraulic power packs. We also offer items such as Euro Towers aluminium towers, Belle concrete finishing equipment, Lyte ladders, Wacker electric breakers and vibrating pokers, Hilti rotary hammers and breakers, Brendon pressure washers, Pentax site survey equipment, Obart pumps and Harrington generators.” One of Wizard’s first orders was for a sizeable tranche of Camon gardening and grounds care equipment from Tracmaster. The hirer wanted to ensure that it would have it available for hire as soon as the important spring period arrived. Wizard’s order comprised C8 and C12 rotavators, an LA20 lawn aerator, two C2000 tillers, two C50 chippers, a pair of TC12 turf cutters, two LS17 lawn scarifiers and no less than six lawn mowers. “Since the initial order, we have added a C500 stump grinder and a power scythe attachment for the C8 rotavator, which effectively gives us two hire opportunities with the one machine,” states John Bellamy. “The JCB minis and Dumpsters are really excellent. They are hired by builders and landscaping contractors who need compact machines that can easily gain access along the sides of houses for work in rear gardens. We also have Stihl brushcutters, hedge trimmers and chainsaws in our gardening equipment line-up. “Another key supplier is Hilti. The equipment we offer includes the company’s breakers, rotary hammers and wall chasing tools. Hilti’s 2-Year No Cost period eases the pressures on our workshop staff and frees up other resources.” He is also impressed by the manufacturer’s Lifetime Service guarantee, which gives a no-cost period of up to two years and a repair cost limit, to give cost savings over the life of the equipment. Several retail and consumable lines have been established, which are promoted in eye-catching displays around the hire counter. Products offered include items from the Scruffs workwear range from Birchwood Products, diamond blades from Diamondmasters, and Bacou-Dalloz fall protection and safety equipment. Integrated computer system Records of products and customers are managed by an inspHire computer system. One of the reasons for choosing the software was its ability to integrate with the Sage program used throughout the TFD group of companies. “The reports that the inspHire system generates are incredibly useful for us,” states John Bellamy. “Weekly printouts show the current location of equipment, and if a customer contacts us we can tell them instantly what products they have on hire. We can use the database to generate mailshots and we are going to develop the system so that it can track servicing requirements. We already have a computer link in our workshop. The system is very easy to use, so that if we recruit someone with limited experience they will be up and running in no time.” Wizard, which is an HAE member, has its own in-house Health & Safety officer who is also a CITB registered instructor. The company can provide customers with a wide range of training services at its Alfreton facility or at a client’s location. Wizard has certainly made a flying start and has plans for expansion. In the longer term, the aim is for Chek Whyte’s son, Charlie, to take over the reins of the hire business as soon as he leaves school. Now aged only 11, Charlie has a tremendous knowledge of plant and equipment (particularly JCB diggers and loaders) and he maintains a keen interest in the Wizard business. In fact, he chose the name for the operation, reflecting his passion for the Harry Potter stories. The company plans to open a second depot by the end of the year, and would like to have reached a total of five outlets in selected locations by 2010. Wizard obviously hopes it has a magic formula, and the opening of its impressive Alfreton business would seem to back that up. • T
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831222 Executive Hire News › Archives › August 2006 › Profile: Wizard Tool Hire › Wizard's magic start
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