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Profile: Plymouth Tool Hire Ltd : Bringing back the local touch

With 26 years experience working for other hirers in Plymouth, Andy Webber decided to set up his own business in March this year. Robert Aplin reports.

In any town or city I would expect the tool hire company that bears its name to have been established for three or four decades, back at the start of our industry. This is certainly not the case in the major city of Plymouth, where experienced hire man Andy Webber was able to set up Plymouth Tool Hire Ltd as recently as March this year. To my mind, the name gives Andy’s business immediate credibility and I’m very surprised that no-one has used the name before.

When I think of the best known independent hirers in Plymouth over the last two decades, names like Torex, Plymouth Hire Centre and Handi Hire immediately spring to mind. In the last decade each of these hirers has ended up as part of a national group, having been acquired by Jewson, (which, in turn, was bought by Speedy), Hire Station and Hewden respectively.

With 26 years experience in hire in Plymouth, Andy Webber has, unsurprisingly, worked for several names on this list. At age 16, he started as a YTS trainee with Plymouth Hire Centre and spent 10 years with the company, before joining Torex in 1992 as a hire counter assistant. Five years later, he joined another local independent A1 Tool Hire (later bought by Handi Hire!), then spent a year with A-Plant before returning to Plymouth Hire Centre as Manager. Speedy, as a sales rep, was next on the list prior to leaving in February this year to set up his own business.

“I became disillusioned with Speedy, as I was pushed to get more than was possible out of the area. There was too much pressure and I needed half an hour alone at home each night just to wind down. The company focused on its national agreements and did not concentrate on smaller, local contractors. I felt that I was building up a local customer base, but was frustrated at the lack of support from the various departments at the local depot.”

Positive feedback from core customers

Having received positive feedback from a number of his core local customers that he had asked to support him in his planned new venture, Andy Webber began trading from his 2,000m2 premises on an established industrial estate on 21 March this year. The premises have deliberately been painted in orange – reminiscent of the colour of the Torex brand, which was so well respected throughout the south west of England. Featuring a small equipment display area, hire counter and a large storage area, Andy is pleased with his facility, located close to the city centre, and to a number of new industrial developments, as well as the re-development of Millbay Docks and Devonport Royal Dockyard.

On establishing his company, Andy’s first forward-thinking decision was to install a hire management computer system from Higher Concept Software. “Its Syrinx system is fantastic, as it is very user friendly and offers more than you need to start a business with. No previous IT experience is needed and if we have a problem, Syrinx is only a phone call away. One of the key benefits of the system is that it allows us to e-mail draft invoices in PDF format to customers, thus allowing them to see the details and make any necessary amends before the actual invoice is confirmed and sent. We have not had one complaint against our invoices, so payment is always quicker.”

Andy’s initial investment of £60,000 was spent on petrol–driven generators (bought online from pump.co.uk), Deborah Services ladders and stagings, second hand Youngman Boss towers, plate compactors and Husqvarna K750 disc cutters. Since then, Andy has added Bosch breakers up to 16kg, Earlex wallpaper strippers, transformers and lighting splitter boxes, all from Hire Supply Company, and Rhino heaters from Birchwood.

Re-hire leads to purchase

In August, the company added its first mini excavator, a 1.5 tonne Takeuchi TB106 unit. “We received a lot of calls for mini excavators and, as we had been re-hiring a machine for some months, we decided to buy our own machine. Takeuchi is a good brand and the machine is a reliable, strong performer. We can achieve a rate of up to £170/week.” To meet growing demand, Andy re-hires equipment like scissor lifts and re-hire currently accounts for up to 30% of turnover. The company’s transport fleet comprises a Mazda 4x4 pick-up truck and a Nissan Cabstar.

Andy’s team at Plymouth Tool Hire comprises Manager Ian Marshall and Hire Controller Jason Moore, both of whom had also become disillusioned with working for national hirers. Both report that “we enjoy coming to work now” and, on the day of my visit, Jason, who currently doubles as driver, had just returned from a 200 mile round trip delivering equipment to Truro, Wadebridge and Okehampton. According to Andy Webber, “we have customers working as far afield as Bristol, Cardiff, Worcester and Oxford, as well as a customer in London.

“Local customers have responded well to our launch. We are dealing with many local contractors that have a proven trading record in the area. Ashcroft Environmental, for example, an asbestos removal, demolition and civil engineering contractor based in Saltash, has supported us since we set up. The company wrote to us recently complimenting ‘the flexibility of your workforce enabling the provision of hired equipment for night time operations has been excellent. With your help we are on course to complete the works on time and on budget.’ It’s great when customers take the time to let us know that they are pleased with our service. It gives us all a buzz.

“In addition, we are on 24-hour call-out for the Highways Department of Plymouth City Council. We are serving customers better and are providing new kit. We are bringing local tradesmen back to dealing with a local hirer.

“Our customer base is growing every week and we are well above our target. Our aim is to pick up one or two accounts each week; however, we don’t want to pull in any more business than we can sensibly handle. I am really enjoying doing it for myself and our work environment is positive – you have to enjoy what you do. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in innovative products. As a result, we may well outgrow this branch and we would consider opening a second outlet in a different area. We are the only independent hirer in Plymouth and we will continue to bring back the local touch to tool hire.” •