Executive Hire News › Archives › September 2009 › Profile: Griffiths Hire Shops : Griffiths' steady growth
Profile: Griffiths Hire Shops : Griffiths' steady growth
With three depots close to the border between England and Wales, Griffiths Hire Shops offers a diverse fleet ranging from power tools to powered access, and has built a loyal customer base. Alan Guthrie visited its Oswestry headquarters.
Griffiths Hire Shops’ impressive headquarters on the outskirts of Oswestry in Shropshire, is unmissable from the main road bypassing the town, but it belies the humbler origins of the business, which next year celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The company has three depots, the others being at Wrexham in north Wales, 15 miles to the north of Oswestry, and at Whitchurch, also in Shropshire, a similar distance away to the east. Today the business is run by Directors Kevin and Paul Griffiths, but it was originally established in 1980 by their parents, Chris and Jill, in the village of Gobowen, just to the north of Oswestry. Having previously worked as a civil engineer, and having some of his own plant, Chris Griffiths had received requests from tradesmen to hire out some of his machinery and equipment, and he saw the potential for a dedicated tool hire business serving the area.
Greater demand
Originally operating from home and using his garage for storage, Chris built up a typical hire fleet of carpet cleaners, wallpaper strippers, power tools, gardening equipment and construction machinery. As business grew amongst homeowners, builders and other professionals, he very soon opened the Gobowen hire shop on the site of a former coal merchant. “There was a significant amount of road building work going on in Oswestry and the surrounding region from about this time,” said Kevin, “and this led to even greater demand for equipment. And the improved transport links ultimately brought more customers within reach of us.
“Expansion came quickly, an unexpectedly, when a hire business in Whitchurch came up for sale in 1983. It was too good an opportunity to miss and our father bought it, retaining all the staff, some of whom are still with us. Then a depot was opened in Wrexham in 1987, initially located in a builders’ merchant, which worked well because tradesmen could hire the tools they needed as they bought their materials. Eventually the business outgrew those premises and a new outlet was built in 1992 on a greenfield site on the outskirts of the town, with excellent links to the A483 Wrexham bypass.”
Kevin and Paul joined the business in the early 1990s. Paul started in the workshops at Gobowen. Kevin had worked there for nine months a few years earlier, before joining the Navy for five years, then coming back to work briefly prior to an intended spell abroad. However, when an extra pair of hands was needed unexpectedly to manage the hire desk, Kevin stepped in ‘temporarily’ - and has stayed with the company since.
In 1995, Griffiths opened its first depot in Oswestry to take advantage of a larger potential customer base, employing as Branch Manager Andy Mason, who was well known in the local hire industry. “Originally, we planned to keep Gobowen as our administrative headquarters, but we eventually decided it was more efficient to amalgamate the two operations,” said Kevin. Not surprisingly, it was also soon realised that extra space was needed. This was solved comparatively easily because, in the 1980s, Chris Griffiths had bought land in an area that would be in a prime position on an industrial estate served by the upgraded Oswestry bypass. The new headquarters opened in 2000 and promptly won an Award from the Oswestry & District Civic Society for its minimal environmental impact. “The original Oswestry site was on a business park that also accommodated several builders’ merchants. We were concerned that, in re-locating, business might suffer. However, we had developed a loyal customer base and they effectively came over with us.
“We now have a very solid operation geared to local needs. “We own our premises and our equipment, and we continually refresh and upgrade the hire fleet. In fact, we believe we are more responsive than larger, national chains because we can make fast decisions. If a customer wants a piece of equipment we do not have, then we can authorise its purchase immediately.”
Comprehensive fleet
Griffiths Hire Shops, which employs 30 staff across its three locations, offers a comprehensive fleet of tools, equipment and compact plant. Its Takeuchi and Kubota mini excavators are popular, comprising sub-1 tonne machines up to 3 tonne. “A lot of customers say they like the Takeuchis because of their smooth operation and simple controls,” said Paul. “We also have Ausa dumpers, which have proved to be very reliable. Other recent additions include more Timberwolf chippers, including two TW190FTR tracked machines. They have a tremendous work rate. Low-level access equipment like Alto towers and podium steps continues to be popular, with much of the demand still being driven by the Work at Height Regulations (WAHR).”
The Oswestry and Whitcurch branches serve customers chiefly within a 20 mile radius. However, Wrexham covers a wider area, with a fleet that includes larger powered access machinery. “Wrexham supplies clients as far afield as north and west Wales, Manchester and Liverpool,” said Paul. “Its fleet includes Skyjack scissor lifts, Niftylift trailer-mounts and articulated booms. Again, in access equipment we have built a good customer base that appreciates quality kit delivered on time. Many of the machines can be used indoors for facilities maintenance, which is a good niche market.”
The company is obviously proud of its loyal customer base. “Being a local family business, our customers have got to know us. We have a very low turnover of staff and people know they will deal with the same personnel each time they visit,” said Kevin. The business shows a similar commitment to its suppliers. “We have built strong business relationships with companies like Stihl, Makita, Hilti, ITW Paslode, Trend, Norton and Toolpak. We choose suppliers that deliver quickly and offer good back-up in terms of spares and service.
“Although we deal with some of the larger local construction companies, a large proportion of our customer base comprises smaller builders hiring cut-off saws, compaction plates and the like. Indeed, many tradesmen currently are extremely busy. We also deal with homeowners, farmers, local councils and utilities. Many new customers come to us following word-of-mouth recommendations. Both Paul and I work on the counter, with me usually based at Oswestry and Paul at Wrexham. We do not believe in sitting out of sight behind a desk. We are hands-on, talking to customers. A builder might be working in a cellar all morning, and when he comes to hire more equipment he’ll want to spend five minutes chatting. This also gives you an opportunity to gain a clearer picture of what else he might require in the future.”
Training facility
A dedicated training facility was recently opened within the Wrexham depot, chiefly offering access equipment training courses from IPAF and PASMA, in conjunction with a specialist provider. “Again, interest is being driven by the WAHR,” said Paul. “This is another service we can offer customers, and since we pay the CITB levy, we can obtain grant aid towards our own staff training.”
Griffiths Hire Shops continues to flourish despite the challenging economic climate. “If our turnover is down, it is not by much,” said Kevin. “The early months of the year were quieter, but from April business really picked up again. Overall, for us the market is strong. Until six months ago we had competition from Brandon and HSS in Oswestry, but their depots have closed and, for the first time in many years, there is no other hirer in the town. We do not set our sights on becoming a large outfit, as we think we could lose the personal touch. However, we have not ruled out the possibility of opening more depots in the future in the Shropshire/north Wales area.” •
www.griffithshireshops.co.uk
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