December 2009
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December EHN issue
Executive Report
Executive news
More to Show, more to see
In the spirit of Torex
Ten years after
Taking our industry's pulse
Protect your plant
Bosch tools up
Optimistic outlook
Market Report: Software Solutions
Computing the benefits
Latest products
Forum
Ten turbulent years
Profile: Prestige Hire
Road to success
Crosshire
Competing with Santa's grotto
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Executive Hire News › Archives › December 2009 › Executive Report : Ten years after
Executive Report : Ten years after
Alan Guthrie looks back over a decade as EHN Editor, and gives his personal assessment of the major developments that have taken place in our industry.
As I joined EHN ten years ago (it was 8 November 1999, to be precise), some thought the world faced disaster. This had nothing to do with my professional merit, although perhaps it is best to let others be the judge of that. The reason for concern was the millennium bug, or Y2K problem, with people fearing computers would not rollover to the year 2000, and cause massive failures of global corporate systems.
As it turned out, no significant computer problems occurred, and in this regard Crosshire, a constant feature of the last decade, was yet again right to have been sceptical about the whole business. In a spring 1999 issue he had observed, ‘the cynical might declare that some such as the computer industry appear to have a vested interest in trying to extract money from us all to correct a problem they caused in the first place.’ A prophetic statement that today has ramifications far beyond the computer industry!
However, in those days, before the mass adoption of Microsoft’s Windows, many companies had no computer at all. ‘Many hirers are still not computerised and find it difficult to make the decision to take the plunge,’ EHN reported in June 2000 when assessing the subject. By January 2003 we were able to report that ‘virtually all hirers’ now had computers, but some are not obtaining the full benefits’. Fast-forward to December 2007 and hirers could achieve efficiencies through modules for customer relationship management (CRM), GPS tracking technology, web portals and the like.
Agent of change in hire
Indeed, the Internet is another agent of change in hire. In January 2000 we gently explained what e-mail was, and suggested that ‘a good-looking and easy-to-use web site could be a deciding factor for new customers.’ Indeed, when discussing the subject again in September 2007, we suggested that 85% of businesses were now found on-line via search engines. Certainly, the vast majority of hirers featured in EHN now have good web sites, illustrating how hirers can embrace change and maintain control.
Of course, reporting on the development and maturing of our industry has been one of EHN’s key roles. As we entered the new millennium, HSS was the UK market leader in tool hire, and in 2000 it introduced four new initiatives: Safe & Sure, Workshops, One-Call and Hireweld. Others (including the rapidly expanding Speedy Hire) looked on with interest, as the flagship company explored new markets. However, its then MD, the legendary Lister Fielding, observed in June 2001, ‘It is quite likely that HSS won’t be the leader forever. It has no divine right to it. Equally, it is not rational to be market leader and marginalize one’s own profitability in the process.’ It was nearly three years before EHN confirmed that ‘Speedy makes it to No 1’, the heading to our Tool Hire Top Ten survey in January 2004. Incidentally, it was in that same issue that we reported on the Management Buy In that took HSS back into private ownership.
Speedy’s remarkable expansion
Speedy’s expansion under John Brown, who retired in 2005 to be replaced by Steve Corcoran, had been remarkable. Indeed it was set to continue, with acquisitions such as LCH Generators and Lifting Gear Hire. Hire had certainly come a long way from simply supplying tools. In September 2005, Steve Corcoran envisaged a company with a potential £1 billion turnover, describing Speedy as “the Tesco of hire.” Nevertheless, he conceded, “Our biggest competitor is the well managed, local independent.” As if to prove the point, Richard Coffey, MD of Supply (UK) responded in the next issue that, in his view, rather than Tesco, “it might even be that a truer analogy might be Microsoft,” limiting the customer’s power of choice.
And this proves a key point. While EHN, as the Passionate Voice of the Hire Industry, duly reports on the market leaders, we vigorously champion the dedicated independents they compete with. In November 1999, during a period of industry consolidation, an article heading asked, ‘“Where are the millennium entrepreneurs?” and we have subsequently found them. In the last ten years, we have travelled the length and breadth of the country to write about fascinating companies, and the people behind them, such as: Alpine Tool Hire, Altis Tool Hire, Artisan Hire, Astley Hire, CP Hire, Doyle’s Hire & Sales, Fraser Tool Hire, Harrison Hire, Herts Equipment Rental, Mayday Plant & Tool Hire, Phoenix Tool Hire, Plantool, Penrith Tool Hire, Plymouth Tool Hire, Skipton Hire Centres, Smiths Equipment Hire, Traction Equipment (Stafford), Webster Power Products, YHC Hire Services, along with many, many others too numerous to mention, compiling
a complete A-Z of hire.
In many cases, hirers have adapted to fulfil new roles. Today, they do not just supply equipment: they offer detailed advice, Health & Safety guidance, training, consumables and dedicated in-field backup. They are essential links in the supply chain between manufacturer and supplier.
Dedicated HAV Supplement
There is no better example of this than the issue of HAV. As far as back as our Mar/Apr 2002 edition, we reported how Hilti, Speedy and Kier were working to adopt ‘a sensible and simple’ approach to a subject that baffled many - if they had heard of it at all. With our May 2005 issue, we produced our dedicated HAV Supplement, to coincide with the introduction of new legislation. It brought together views of hirers, suppliers, contractors and, even, the Health & Safety Executive, to promote better understanding and highlight the essential role hirers now played in disseminating information.
This was followed by our two dedicated Conferences on HAV, the first in October 2005 at EHN’s offices in rural Wiltshire, and the second 12 months later at the Ricoh Arena. Both were driven by our industry’s thirst for knowledge, the first focusing on the theory behind HAV and its measurement, and the second discussing the practical solutions that suppliers, hirers and users had devised. This truly showed our industry working together - a theme that would have resonance later. EHN continued to report on new products with low HAV levels, from power tools to compaction plates, vibration meters and monitors, and equipment that eliminated HAV altogether, like remote trench rollers and breakers mounted on mini excavators. Hirers had become genuine solutions providers.
Innovative equipment
Of course, such products represent just a fraction of the innovative equipment EHN has covered. Ten years ago, in the section of our Compact Plant Market Report on mini excavators, we predicted that ‘the new millennium will belong to zero tail swing machines’, and these have indeed gained acceptance. Much of the demand has been driven by on-site Health & Safety considerations, and this applies to many other products, such as Amida metal halide lighting towers, Groundhog towable welfare units, the remote controlled Ransomes Spider mower, Takeuchi’s prototype Lithium-ion battery powered mini excavator, cordless tools introduced by so many manufacturers, Pike Signals’ XL Eclipse solar powered traffic lights, podium steps and other low-level access solutions, and a host of machines designed to offer environmental benefits in terms of emissions, noise and fuel consumption.
Indeed, EHN has constantly sought to identify the new trends that will create additional hire opportunities. As far back as October 2001,
we raised the issue of climate change, and the consequent likelihood of increased flooding and demand for dehumidifiers and dryers. And in August 2007 we reported on the heroic efforts made by hirers in supplying equipment to tackle the disastrous floods that affected north east England and the Midlands. In July the following year, we suggested how hirers could liaise in advance with the emergency services to prepare response plans. We have also explored issues such as manual handling, dust, on-site recycling and waste reduction, and the increasing demand for reliable power supplies. These are all opportunities that will remain significant hire markets, and it will be fascinating to see how they develop, and how hirers respond.
The ability to monitor such developments is dependent on maintaining close contact with our industry, which we have encouraged with several initiatives besides the monthly magazine (whether sent through the post or, now, digitally via e-mail). In March/April 2001 we introduced our Forum articles, discussing issues affecting the industry and stimulating debate. And in October 2008 we launched the Executive Hire Club, enabling hirers to air their news and views, swap experiences and solve problems. This sort of initiative would simply not have been possible a decade ago, and is an invaluable resource - so use it!
‘Working together’
However, the best example of ‘working together’ has been in creating the Executive Hire Show. Indeed, our very first Forum article invited hirers to comment on the state of the industry’s exhibition, then Hirex, which had seen attendance drop by 25% over the previous year. EHN had always believed that our industry needs an annual Show - but one that accurately reflects its specific needs.
EHN became the focus of debate on the exhibitions issue, and reported as Hirex became a ‘zone’ within SED in 2003, then a ‘show within a show’ at Interbuild in 2004. We covered the first Premier Hire event held in Wembley in 2000, which would become The Hire Show in 2004. However, recognising the necessity for a centrally located, dedicated hire exhibition, and determined to create a truly industry representative event, in July 2006 EHN announced that the Executive Hire Show would take place at the Ricoh Arena in 2007, under the theme Let’s Work Together.
Built on the platform of EHN, this was an event developed by the industry, for the industry, whose views were obtained by speaking to hirers and suppliers, holding regional focus groups, and EHN even co-ordinated a G8 ‘summit’ of integrated suppliers and passionate hirers. This was a remarkable achievement, demonstrating not only the magazine’s central position in the industry, but also the commitment and drive of industry professionals. It also showed again their ability to adapt and innovate.
And innovation has been evident throughout the last decade. EHN has reported on some considerable hire achievements, such as helping transform London’s West End into a Formula 1 racing circuit; providing emergency power to residents of Boscastle when the Cornish village was devastated by flash flooding; reacting to the London terrorist bomb attacks in July 2005; or designing gantries for maintaining high-rise buildings in Canary Wharf, comprising components that can go in a lift. We have also praised the smaller, but similarly important acts that successful hirers perform, such as working well outside normal hours, and taking time to find specific solutions for customers.
Passion and commitment
If the industry can maintain this passion and commitment, as evidenced so strongly in our recent Taking Our industry’s Pulse articles, then we can look positively ahead to the next ten years and beyond. Some challenges will always remain: one of Crosshire’s perennial themes, as the ‘Get The Rates Up’ title of his March/April 2001 column shows, has been that of charging a sensible price, and of collecting monies owed. Many others will revolve around change. In January 2002, our Forum explored the very nature of tool hire, saying ‘The days when the industry could be defined as carrying an item, which cost less than £1,000, out of a shop, are long gone.’ And EHN’s purchase of the assets of PHE Plant Hire Executive, announced last month, confirms on-going change - and opportunity.
However, the most important facet of our industry that emerges from analysing the last ten years is the people within it. One of the article headings in the first EHN I was involved with in December 1999 was ‘People matter’. Similarly, in July 2003, another industry legend,
Sir Matthew Goodwin, former Chairman of Hewden Stuart, wrote eloquently: “For many years there was a slogan in my office that read ‘the only thing that matters is people’. It is the people in the depots who run the machines, know their customers and the problems associated with a breakdown in the middle of a December night on a Welsh mountain.” With the right people, and the right outlook, our industry will surmount any challenge, from customer demands to computer bugs. •
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