Executive Hire News › Archives › October 2008 › Executive Report: Growth opportunities

Executive Report : Growth opportunities

Alan Guthrie caught up with some of the hirers attending Saltex last month, to gain their insights into the grounds care market.

Stuart Couzens, Events Manager, Morris Leslie Group, Hemel Hempstead
"We are as busy as we have ever been, hiring utility vehicles to the event hire industry. The number of shows and functions being held continues to grow, and tighter Health & Safety regulations mean that alternative methods to manually lifting and moving equipment on site have to be sought. We are also supplying the film industry with vehicles for use on location, with some going as far afield as Europe and, even, Morocco.
We now have a fleet of 80 vehicles, including JCB 6x4 and 4x4 Groundhogs, and John Deere HPX Gator units. Some larger, national hirers have such vehicles in their fleets, but we believe we have an advantage by being a specialist with highly experienced staff offering a dedicated and reliable service. "

Steven McInroy, Managing Director, SGM (UK)
"We have had an excellent year so far, extending our local authority contractors customer base, as well as increasing our short-term spot hire business from our nine locations throughout Britain. We have bought equipment worth more than £2m this year to meet the demand for out-front rotary mowers, triples, tractors, chippers and hand-held power tools like brushcutters. Business has been won from large contractors such as Kier, Glendale and Veolia.
The recent demise of Swan Plant could be seen as a black mark against grounds care hire generally, but such developments do not dampen our enthusiasm. There are great opportunities out there. The economics of the grounds care industry continue to change. Councils and contractors have fewer resources, yet they need equipment. This is particularly true when existing long-term lease arrangements come to an end and they need to hire equipment as a stopgap measure. They also require machines to quickly replace broken down or stolen items."

Paul Errington, Managing Director, County Hire, Tadley
"Since June, the hire market generally has been somewhat subdued. However, this is not a disaster. Things are just quieter. Homeowners are perhaps delaying projects like house extensions, but they will go ahead eventually. People are over-reacting to the general doom and gloom in the popular press, and the confused statements from government ministers.
At the moment, the smaller builders and tradesmen we serve are busy enough.The grounds care hire element of our business is affected to the same extent as any other. There are always people with projects to do, who will hire equipment like the TurfTeq range of power rakes, edgers and cultivators offered by our separate Groundscare Products operation, which save time and effort. There is still business to be won out there: hirers just need to stay calm. "

Richard Robertson (right), MD of Akro Multihire, Livingston, pictured with Hugh Ramsay, Area Sales Manager, Double A Trading, Fife
"Akro Multihire has actively targeted the grounds care hire market for the last two years, in addition to our main tools and equipment hire business. It represents an excellent opportunity because grass, plants and trees will always keep growing and have to be maintained.Our fleet includes items like Timberwolf chippers and John Deere walk-behind rotary mowers, supplied by our local dealer Double A Trading. We also have Dosko stump grinders from the Hire Supply Company and Niftylift tracked access platforms. In addition, we do well with Gianni Ferrari ride-on mowers. Double A has sold these extensively to local authorities and contractors in Scotland, and we can hire them as backup machines when necessary, particularly at peak periods.
We have re-launched our web site, which now includes video clips taken by ourselves, showing how to operate the machines, together with details of features and dimensions. The more information we can provide, the more it helps our customers. We are currently supplying specialist equipment as far afield as Dundee, Dumbarton and South Lanarkshire. "

Andy Lathwell, Hire Manager, Browns Groundcare, Leighton Buzzard
"Generally, grounds care hire has enjoyed a run of several excellent years, but we have noticed a slight levelling off recently. Perhaps this is due to a decrease in business for smaller landscapers serving homeowners, who are affected by the ‘credit crunch’ and putting projects on hold. However, the top end of the domestic market seems unaffected, and our local authority customer base is as strong as ever. Councils’ budgets are under pressure and hire is an attractive alternative to outright purchase.
Products like wood chippers also continue to be in demand, and we have recently added GreenMech machines (for which our parent business is a dealer) to our hire fleet, alongside larger Timberwolf equipment. There are also plenty other niche markets to target. We are now offering Charterhouse’s Verti Top Vac artificial turf cleaner, and we have just introduced the Campey Dakota 410 top dresser as an attachment for our Kubota RTV utility trucks, which are vehicles with huge potential in the events market. We are also looking at recycling and street cleaning equipment opportunities."

Ritain Patel and Dale Hudson, Directors, Acacia Groundcare Rental, Henfield
"As we only started trading at the end of last year, we cannot make comparisons with previous periods. However, we are flat out at the moment, and we have taken lots of enquiries at Saltex, from contractors, local authorities and smaller landscapers.
We have already supplied equipment to several large contractors and we believe that, if they are happy with our service, they will place much more business with us - especially following Swan’s recent demise. This again shows how local and regional hirers can out-perform the nationals. We supply customers with what they want, when they want it, with reliable delivery and collection.
Customers are also impressed by the fact that, unlike some other companies, we genuinely have in our fleet every item shown in our catalogue. We serve clients over a wide radius, but we are not afraid to say no to an enquiry if it is beyond our geographical area. You can over-reach yourself if you cannot provide backup service quickly in the field. We recently had to turn down an enquiry from Devon for this reason.Certainly, prospects are looking very good. Most of our equipment is out on hire, and we are even taking bookings already for turf renovation machinery for next spring.” "

Adrian Watts, Group Hire Manager, Hirebase
"Our main builders merchant business, Buildbase, is an Affiliate Member of BALI, the national body representing UK landscape contractors. We sponsor its WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening competition, the finals of which take place at Saltex. We also provide equipment to colleges and students for the regional heats.
This is our third consecutive year exhibiting at Saltex and we see more people on each occasion, generating excellent leads from private schools, landscapers, decking specialists and other grounds care professionals. Popular equipment includes the Kanga Kid multi-purpose tool carrier, and Barreto rotavators and Dosko stump grinders from The Hire Supply Company. I have £1m to spend on more kit by the end of the year.
Landscapers definitely represent one of our key target markets.
The synergy between our divisions works well. Builders visiting Buildbase to buy their materials can hire any tools and equipment they may need, while landscapers hiring grounds care machinery from Hirebase can also hire items like mobile access towers and disc cutters. We now have 50 Hirebase locations, stretching from Exeter to Shetland, and many more are currently in the pipeline. "

Simon Reynolds, Hire/Operations Director, Golf & Turf Equipment, Wokingham
"We are extremely busy at the moment. The wet weather meant that customers’ end-of-season renovation operations had to be delayed, with the result that everyone wanted to hire equipment like spikers and seeders within an even shorter window of opportunity. Our staff had to pull out all the stops to get machines back, serviced and out again quickly. This shows how flexible you have to be, as in any good hire business. The mild conditions have also encouraged strong grass growth, giving huge demand for mowing machinery.
We always have a stand at Saltex, promoting the equipment sales side of our business as well as our Turfleet Hire operation. This year at the Show, I have been looking particularly at the latest tracked chippers and shredders from Timberwolf, to add to those we already have in the fleet. We are interested in shredding machines that can handle a wider range of materials, such as pallets and plant pots as well as vegetation, for recycling and easier waste disposal. It is a market that is set to boom, given the latest legislation on site waste management.
The ‘credit crunch’ is actually helping us: people are hiring, rather than buying, equipment. However, rising fuel costs have certainly posed a challenge, in recent times and the days of fixed-price deliveries are virtually over. Most customers recognise this from their own experiences when they fill up their vehicles, and they will pay a realistic charge. "