Rentool, which has depots in Chandlers Ford and Poole, has added another two Wacker Neuson 6003 excavators to its fleet. Director Bill Collings said: “One of the main reasons we really like this model is the fact it has the compact dimensions of a 5 tonne excavator, but has the working envelope of a typical 7.5 tonner, which makes it very popular with our customers.”

The machine is powered by a 69.5hp Yanmar diesel engine and offers a maximum digging depth of 4140mm. It incorporates a long dipper arm, an additional counterweight, work lights, a re-fuelling pump and a quick-hitch.

Wacker Neuson will be exhibiting at the Executive Hire Show on 8 and 9 February at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

T-T Pumps has invested in a new service and repair centre at its head office in Woore, Cheshire, designed to deal with all makes and types of pumping equipment. The workshop has a 3 tonne lift and comprehensive test facilities.

In order to minimise the impact of its operation on the environment, the company has also introduced a rainwater recycling system for the new centre, whereby collected water can be re-used for washing down equipment.

T-T Pumps will be exhibiting at the Executive Hire Show next week at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Specialist hirer, MBS Tracked Access, has taken delivery of three additional Teupen Leo spider lift machines from distributor, Ranger Equipment. The company, which is based at Witham in Essex, has bought two 23GT models and an 18GT, offering a maximum lift height of 23 and 17.9m respectively. The deal included the trade-in of MBS’ existing 23m Leos. The company’s fleet also includes a 15GT machine and a 30T.

The spider lifts are mainly hired with an operator for work in shopping centres and facilities management, and are used by parent company, MBS Grounds Maintenance, for tree surgery and building maintenance.

The new 23GT models have been specified with Teupen’s hydraulic track height alteration system. Martyn Bass (pictured), MD of MBS, said: “The ease of adjustment for driving along kerbs and sloping ground is a big advantage when manoeuvring around site for arborist work, gutter cleaning, roof slate repairs, and the like.”

Ranger Equipment will be displaying the latest additions to the Teupen Leo line-up at the Executive Hire Show on 8 and 9 February, at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Progress Group, a Dewsbury-based hirer and seller of power generation equipment, has bought the business and assets of TM Newburn Group Ltd of Bradford out of administration. TM Newburn, which hires diesel generators to a national client base, will in future be known as Newburn Power Rental Ltd.

Progress Group, which has a turnover of £22m, supplies generators and emergency power equipment to industrial and commercial clients across Europe. MD Mark Henstock said: “This is a fantastic outcome for all parties – it secures the jobs and future of a great Yorkshire business with a loyal customer base, which has been trading for over 20 years and has built a strong reputation. It also complements our existing business and enables us to move into different specialist markets, such as providing power to the leisure industry for outdoor events.”

Pictured, from left, are Mark Henstock, Andrew Walls of Ethos Corporate Finance which helped co-ordinate the acquisition, and Paul Cooke of TM Newburn.

Ilminster-based Rob Bool Plant Hire has taken delivery of a second Volvo mini excavator, an ECR48C model equipped with a Harford hydraulic ‘I’ lock quick hitch and a full set of buckets. It joins a mixed fleet of general plant that is offered to customers within a 30 mile radius of the Somerset town.

Proprietor, Rob Bool, says the decision to buy the 4.8 tonne machine was based on several factors. “We purchased a second hand EC55B about three years ago for a specific project and appreciated its reliability and performance. We now need for a similar sized machine and, based on our previous experience, we decided to opt for the ECR48C with reduced tail swing.”

The machine has a closed centre, load sensing hydraulic system for fast cycle times, and two speed travel on the machine is fully automatic. Rob Bool Plant specified air conditioning for its latest fleet addition as an optional extra.

Arco has launched a catalogue listing more than 3,000 signs that meet current BS and potential future EN standards, along with advice on how businesses can prepare for any changes. The publication is designed to help organisations choose signs to warn of remaining risk, or to instruct employees of measures they must take to stay safe in the workplace.

The company says that all the signs meet the current ISO 7010 standard. It adds that new symbols will be phased in when available to meet the proposed ISO EN 7010 standard, which will become a European Normative, meaning the standard must be written into UK and EU law after an introductory period. To request a copy of the Arco Safety Signs catalogue visit arco.co.uk/safetysigns.

Arco’s subsidiary Hose, Ducting & Fittings (HD&F) will be exhibiting at the Executive Hire Show on 8 and 9 February at the Ricoh Arena.

HSS has opened a new regional distribution centre in Bristol. The 30,000 sq ft purpose-built facility on the Aztec Business Park will become a key regional distribution hub for the group’s activities in the south west and Wales. As well as providing hire services, the building offers storage on two levels and training facilities.

The existing local HSS branch in Bristol will be closed, with staff transferring to the new site. The company says that more than 30 additional jobs will be created as it continues to invest in its activities in the region.

GAP Group has been selected by City Building (Glasgow) as sole supplier for tools, skips, access equipment and accommodation, after a rigorous tender process beginning last October. The initial contract went live on 4 January and will last for a minimum of two years, with an option to extend it up to four years.

City Building has an annual turnover of almost £20m, and this latest contract is worth approximately £2m. GAP’s Joint MD, Douglas Anderson, commented: “We are very pleased that City Building has given us this opportunity, particularly because the sole supplier status shows that we are trusted to meet each and every one of its hire requirements.”

Vibration monitor supplier, Reactec, says it is entering the New Year in positive mood, with four of the country’s largest tool hirers now offering its HAVmeter to clients in order to protect workers from HAV exposure.

MD Jim O’Hagan said that four of the hirers currently listed in EHN’s Tool Hire Top Ten, namely A-Plant, Brandon, GAP and Speedy, were currently providing the monitors to their customers, adding that “Our focus for the coming year is to see other major hire firms also offering the technology. Vibration safety remains one of the biggest problems for any industry that regularly uses vibrating power tools, and workers need to be properly protected from the dangers.

“If companies do not have an accurate way of monitoring vibration exposure in place, they not only run the risk of staff contracting incurable diseases like HAVS, but also leave themselves open to compensation claims or fines.” Reactec are exhibiting on stand C30 at the Executive Hire Show next month.

EHN’s Tool Hire Top Ten analysis for 2012 will be published in our January/February issue.

Brandon Hire has bought the surveying and construction equipment supplier, Phoenix Surveying Equipment Ltd, which employs 50 staff from five depots. With its head office in Yate, Bristol, Phoenix hires, sells and repairs surveying equipment to customers across the country.

Brandon MD Tim Smith (pictured) said: “Phoenix is a great company with a strong reputation. Key to its success is its product strength and its people, who are experts at what they do. It will continue as a separate business, although, clearly, the fact that we are both working within the same sectors is an advantage for our customers.”

Oaks Plant Hire, based in Sevenoaks, has taken delivery of two new 5 tonne Yanmar ViO 50 zero tail swing machines from UK and Ireland importer Ammann Equipment. The machines join a 3 tonne ViO 30 in the hirer’s fleet, which Director Ralph Wilcox bought two years ago at the Executive Hire Show, and which he says has proved very successful.

“Customers like the zero tail swing minis from a safety perspective, and we find there is less damage to the body of the machines. We operate various Ammann and Yanmar products and have found them all very reliable for hire. The service back up and supply of spares is excellent.”

Aspects of the ViO 50 that impressed Oaks Plant Hire include the provision of sprung steel guards on all rams, a new boom design to ease loading, a large cab and an extended blade for clearance work. However, Ralph’s says his favourite characteristic of the machine is a built in auto-refuel system, designed to eliminate the risk of contamination from filling up with dirty cans.

Ralph is pictured (right) with Gary Wingrove, Regional Sales Manager for Ammann Equipment, which also supplies Ammann and Rammax compaction and excavator attachments, together with Cormidi tracked dumpers.

Speedy has received a Green Apple award for its One Plan sustainability strategy. Competing against more than 500 other nominations, the company was presented with its award during a presentation held at the House of Commons.

The awards are administrated by the Green Organisation, a group that promotes environmental best practice. Judges are drawn from the Environment Agency, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Chartered Institute for Waste Management. Speedy will now also be considered to represent its country in the European Business Awards for the Environment.

One Plan is a sustainability action plan based around a combination of services and incentives designed to enable Speedy and its suppliers to reduce carbon emissions, improve Health & Safety and increase efficiency.

JCB’S UK employees have received a double dose of festive cheer as the manufacturer announced a £500 Christmas bonus and a 5.2% pay increase.
Approximately 4,400 employees at the company’s factories in Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Wrexham will share in the bonus, worth a total of more than £2m. In addition, from January 1, UK employees will receive a pay increase linked to November’s Retail Price Index (RPI).

JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford said: “JCB has continued to recover strongly this year from the difficult trading conditions of 2008 and 2009, and all areas of our business rose to the challenge of growing sales in a tough economic environment. Last year we sold 51,600 machines and this year sales will increase by more than 30%.”

“The award of another Christmas bonus and a substantial pay increase wouldn’t have been possible without team work at JCB during the severe economic downturn of 2008 and 2009 when everyone worked together to ensure the business emerged strongly from a difficult trading period. The economic outlook has become more uncertain in recent months but if we continue to work as a team, I’m sure we can achieve even more next year.”

In October 2008, UK production employees voted to work a 34 hour week in order to help save the jobs of hundreds of their colleagues. All employees also endured an 18-month pay freeze from 2009 to the summer of 2010.

Many of the country’s largest shopping centres are bedecked with Christmas decorations that have been installed using Nationwide Platforms’ powered access equipment. Decoration specialist Centre Design, which has a three year supply contract with Nationwide, has undertaken work at approximately 60 shopping centres around the UK, including Bluewater in London, Meadowhall in Sheffield, the Gateshead Metrocentre, and Silverburn in Glasgow.

At the Metrocentre, a number of machines, including two boom lifts and two low-level access scissor platforms suitable for indoor applications, were used for the installation of a gigantic illuminated reindeer, as well as other large Christmas centrepieces.

The boom lifts provided a lift height of more than 15m, with a maximum outreach of 10m, for work involved with securing the decorations from above. The low-level scissors, which were used for installing smaller items, provided working heights of 5m.

Shawhire, the hire operation of Mansfield-based Shawtrack Services, which manufactures low -profile beavertail bodies, operates a fleet of 150 vehicles from 7.5 tonne up to 32 tonne. 42 of these were added recently following a deal with Nationwide Platforms, which involved Shawhire buying back 57 of its own Shawtrack built vehicles after more than five years of heavy usage.

Nationwide originally purchased 58 beavertail bodies, installed on DAF CF75-310 chassis, to service its fleet of self-propelled boom and scissor lifts. 42 have now been bought back, with a further 15 of the 26 tonne vehicles having been sold on to plant hire firms. The 58th truck met its demise in a crash, in which there were no injuries.

Jeff Wright, Shawtrack’s Sales Director said, “We are so confident in the quality and long lasting products we manufacturer, that we bought back the used machines to re-market and increase the numbers in our hire fleet.”

New cutting-edge products designed to meet the specific needs of hirers and their customers will be highlighted in the Innovation Zone at the Executive Hire Show in February. The initiative attracted a record 40 entries from exhibitors, with no fewer than 14 ultimately being shortlisted by the Judging Panel.

The shortlist comprises:

ArcGen Hilta – TL-90 LED lighting tower
Demon International – Hurricane Combi
Gantic – GantiCharger
Global Construction Plant & Equipment – Pro-Screen PVG12V-84
Hire Supply Company – Elite Heat
Leica Geosystems – 3D Disto
Lifestyle Appliances – Santorini patio heater
Lombardini – Kohler Direct Injection engines
Makita – BLS 713RFE slide compound mitre saw
Metabo – Mag 28 LTX 32 cordless MAG drill
Scaffolding Solutions – Skaftray
Stihl – TS 500i cut-off saw
Tacklestore – TM12 lifting, rescue and man riding device
TowerLight UK – VB9-LED lighting tower

The panel of judges comprised: Andy Connor, Supply Chain Director of Speedy which sponsors the Zone; Jim Field, Commercial Director of Supply UK Hire Shops; Carl Banks, MD of P.E.T. Hire of Crewe; Andy Earll, MD of Ace Line Plant of Rugeley; and EHN Editor Alan Guthrie.

“Overall, the judges were very impressed by the quality and variety of the entries, which ranged from cordless power tools and work at height solutions, to fuel efficient engines and low energy lighting towers,” said Alan Guthrie. “This demonstrates the value of the Innovation Zone, which celebrates new equipment addressing issues that hirers and end users are concerned about, such as safety, efficiency, quality and environmental impact. It also proves that manufacturers continue to invest in R&D, developing new products that hirers need to keep informed about by visiting the Show.”

The January/February 2012 Show preview issue of Executive Hire News will provide an editorial analysis of the line-up.

The 14 finalists will be displayed in the large Innovation Zone situated in the ‘Top Tier’ of the Show. All visitors will be invited to vote for their favourite product by simply leaving a business card in the ballot box beside their chosen item. All business cards will also be entered into a prize draw to win £500. The winning exhibitor will be announced at the Show at 3pm on Thursday 9 February and will win the Speedy Innovation Award at the Show.

Pictured during the judging session are, from left, Andy Connor, Alan Guthrie, Andy Earll, Jim Field and Carl Banks.

Hirers and other businesses involved in fire and flood restoration can benefit from learning how to use moisture meters effectively, according to the Farnham-based National Flood School. It is holding a one-day course on 14 December covering the use of moisture meters, with a combination of hands-on training and theory.

Delegates will learn about a variety of meters, including hand-held units that measure relative humidity, dew point, temperature and mixing ratios in wood, plaster, brick and tiles.

Specialists will also demonstrate the Hygronet system, which centres on a remote data logger. This uses sensors and a wall probe to collect information that is then transmitted wirelessly to a computer or smartphone, reducing the number of site visits needed.

There will be practical demonstrations of moisture meters in the school’s purpose-built Flood House. Believed to be the only one of its type in Europe, it is an eight-room structure made with materials and techniques typical to UK buildings, and capable of being flooded with up to 1,500 litres of water.

More details can be found at www.nationalfloodschool.co.uk or by calling 01252 821185. A similar course is being planned for May 24, 2012.

With its existing fleet of double drum rollers all out on hire and a further pressing requirement from an important client, Stevenage-based Blythewood Plant Hire had to quickly add a DD24 machine roller from Volvo.

“We had actually just taken the machine on evaluation trials to see how it stacked up against our existing brand choice, when this particular hire came up from our Peterborough depot. With this, and our long standing experience of operating Volvo mini excavators, we decided to take the DD24 on spec,” said Operations Director Dave Hazell. “Certainly the overall build quality looks impressive and, if it proves itself over the coming months, we will be adding more to our fleet.”

The 2.6 tonne machine has a drum width of 1.2m, and the drums offer dual frequencies, operating at either 55 or 67Hz for optimal impact. A pressurised water feed system is directed via four nozzles per drum, working in conjunction with spring loaded wipers.

Originating as an in-house plant department for Doyle plc, Blythewood has evolved into a hirer of plant, tools and accommodation, with depots in Stevenage, Leyton, Peterborough and Warrington.

To help further reduce the number of injuries involving the use of ladders and stepladders, the Ladder Association has added a further course to its training portfolio, aimed at those who manage and supervise the work of others.

Available through approved Ladder Association training centres, the course enables successful delegates to carry out periodic statutory inspections and to complete relevant documentation. They receive a training competence certificate and a LadderCard valid for five years.

Upon completion, delegates should be able to accurately record details of ladders and stepladders, identify component parts using industry standard naming conventions, inspect equipment and identify safety critical faults, record their findings in accordance with statutory requirements, and to recommend action to be taken when faults are found.

The week’s financial results from Speedy and HSS provide encouraging news.

HSS’ nine months results show like-for-like growth of 7.7% to take revenue to £136.4m. Third quarter revenues were up approximately 5% to £46.9m, indicating that sustaining growth has become harder.

EBITDA has grown by 3.1% to £30.7m, although its third quarter figure of £11.2m is £900,000 lower than the same three months of 2010, said to be due to the roll-out costs of a new logistics and operational platform.

Speedy’s half year results also show positive signs of progress towards recovery. Revenue to 30 September was £161.8m.

When adjusted for the disposal of the accommodation hire business and the expired Network Rail contract, revenues from its UK & Ireland hire operations rose by 1.5% to £153.3m and EBITDA before exceptional items rose 14.6% to £33.0m.

The much newer International business had revenues of £4.8m, a growth of 30% over the previous year. Advisory Services has now been closed, while Training has been added back to its hire operation.

Speedy’s improved trading performance and its disposal of the Accommodation Hire business has led to a  strengthened balance sheet with net debt having fallen 32% over the six month period to £77.0m, after capital expenditure of £30.5m.