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Executive Report: Handling all aspects Alan Guthrie visits a Warrington-based hirer that has developed a profitable niche offering specialist materials handling equipment. Such is the demand for its fleet of specialist handling equipment, that Warrington-based Ash Hire & Sales sometimes finds itself serving customers as far afield as Cornwall, Scotland and Norfolk. Most business, however, comes from within a 60-mile radius of the company, which also has offices in Bredbury and Cannock. Clients range from local authorities, large contractors and civil engineers, such as Alfred McAlpine, Balfour Beatty, Carillion, Edmund Nuttall and Wrekin Construction, to smaller ground works specialists and landscapers. “Often, someone will know what they need but cannot source it locally, and they find us via the Internet,” says Managing Director, Ashley Chilton. “Others will come to us seeking a solution to an on-site lifting or laying problem that they have not encountered before. Following any enquiry, we will visit the site to advise on the most appropriate solution, and when we deliver the equipment our staff will fully demonstrate it and instruct the user on its operation.” Ashley Chilton began his career in the early 1980s as a Hire Desk Controller with HSS in Birmingham, becoming a Transport Manager in Coventry and then working in the national accounts office in Manchester. He later worked as a Depot Manager with the plant hirer TP Halligan, based in Trafford Park, and PJP Plant Hire in Radcliffe. “Approximately five years ago, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) began researching into ways of reducing risks involved with manually handling kerb stones, and I could see this was creating demand for appropriate equipment to hire. “I knew the Directors of Arnold Plant in Stockport, a subsidiary of the Bredbury-based Westgate Holdings group, which also owns H & C Plant Hire (offering operated equipment), also in Stockport, A & B Plant Hire in Lowton, and a tool and equipment hirer, Fast Hire, in Ashton-under-Lyne. They similarly saw the potential for a specialist operation, and we formed Ash Hire & Sales in early 2006. It was initially based at one of the group’s offices in Bredbury, moving to our current site in Lowton, north of Warrington, last January. “Being part of the larger group means we can supply customers with other items besides handling equipment, if required, from a disc cutter to a 30-tonne excavator, sourced from the other subsidiaries. We are a genuine one-stop shop. Equally, the other companies can draw on the Ash Hire fleet.” Ash Hire specialises in supplying Probst equipment, for which it is also a dealer serving Cheshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. Hire represents approximately 70% of revenues. “The Probst range is very comprehensive, amounting to more than 200 items. We have more than 100 units in our fleet but, if a customer needs an item we do not have, then we will buy it without hesitation; being specialists, we know we will hire it out again in the future. For example, we recently added a high-lift pipe grab to the fleet for a contractor who needed it for a two-day job; the following week we hired it to a council who needed to install large concrete waste bins in a park. “For another recent customer, who had to place large ornamental granite blocks weighing several tonnes in a municipal square, we supplied a Probst SH2500 heavy vacuum lifter that accepts different lifting pads to meet specific handling requirements. He was delighted because he could position the stones without drilling anchor points or marking them in any way.” Popular fleet items include fork-mounted vacuum lifts such as the BV Jumbo, as well as trailer-mounted versions; SM Stonemagnets with suction plates; and VPH150 vacuum flag stone lifters. Ash Hire also offers Probst hand-held kerb lifts, block grabs and kerb lifting attachments, rough terrain site pallet trucks and hydraulic manhole lifters, as well as accessories like chains and shackles. “We can provide implements that the customer can use with their existing mini excavators or other machinery, or we can supply a complete package of attachments plus the machine by cross-hiring from other Westgate companies.” Ash Hire also repairs and services customers’ own equipment, and can offer accredited training programmes. Although a specialist in handling equipment, Ash Hire is always seeking other products to complement its fleet. “We visited the Executive Hire Show in Coventry in February and saw some good innovations. We are constantly looking for new niche opportunities and we will certainly visit the 2009 Show (on 11 and 12 February). We are interested in any product or service that will help our business, be it a new product, a vehicle or an IT solution.” As Ashley Chilton points out, “meeting the needs of Health & Safety legislation has been a key driver for our business, and the equipment we provide not only offers safety benefits, but also lowers costs by increasing efficiency and productivity.” Demand for the company’s services could grow even further, as the HSE is expected to focus attention in the near future on the safe manual handling of paving slabs as part of its on-going Supply Chain Project. This follows on from its work on kerb lifting, which indirectly led to Ash Hire’s foundation in the first place. • Executive Hire News › Archives › August 2008 › Executive Report › Handling all aspects
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