000685 - Hire Station 25/9/08 16:34 Page 2
PROFILE
HIRE STATION continued
our key petro-chemical customers.” In all, ESS has approaching
2,000 gas monitors available for hire as well as escape sets, full
breathing apparatus, access equipment, hazardous area lighting and
radios, and cable location equipment.
These investments support ESS’s ‘Shutdown Services’ operation
that provides equipment and other services to large industrial sites
during maintenance periods. The development of this specialist
activity has enabled Hire Station to enter new industrial markets and
introduce its core tools and equipment ranges. “Our aim is to serve
a common customer base throughout our divisions. For example, we
are now providing more general tool hire to MEP’s specialist
customers,” says John Singleton.
Virtual hire
Hire Station has developed virtual hire partnerships, including
one with a national garden centre chain.
Hire Station has also developed a number of virtual hire
controllers join the front line by answering phones. We have ten partnerships. “For example, with one national garden centre chain,
people on the front line in the call centre and eight of these by placing point of sale material in selected stores, we have
members of staff have over 20 years hire experience.” introduced retail customers to the concept of hire. When a customer
picks up a leaflet and wishes to hire, they dial the free phone
95% of turnover from 300 products
number and it diverts to our call centre. We answer in the name of
Another key element of John Singleton’s strategy to turn Hire that garden centre and raise an order, which is then delivered by one
Station’s core tool hire operation around has been to focus its major of our branches. This activity may be seasonal, but we have been
investment on 300 product lines. “In order to build more momentum, busy from April to September, with turnover running at
we had to invest more. We rationalised our range and have invested £20,000/month and it is all cash business.”
in strategic areas. Hire Station now generates 95% of its turnover
from these 300 products. Customers must have confidence that we John Singleton and his team have certainly been busy in the last
have the depth of stock they need, so we have set a stock profile for year. They have opened new greenfield tool hire outlets in Croydon,
each branch. If there is local demand for additional lines, then these Norwich, Poole and Skipton, with MEP Hire opening in Manchester
are stocked at the discretion of the branch manager, as long as they and ESS in Middlesbrough. Since April last year, Hire Station has
meet the payback criteria set out.” also spent £4.2m on acquisitions. Earlier this year, it purchased DJ
Tool Hire from administration and is in the process of re-locating
Four years ago, Hire Station operated 30 mini excavators. It now has both its Durham and Newcastle branches to new premises.
a fleet of 200 machines, comprising 750kg micro and 1.5 tonne
minis, the majority of which are JCB units, although the hirer also ESS Safeforce acquired Northern Site Supplies (NSS), which hires
operates Terex and Kubota machines. In the last two years, specialist hazardous lighting to the petro-chemical and offshore
Hire Station has also invested £3.5m in the new Pop-Up scissor lift, industries. John Singleton plans “to roll out this model, established
as well as Terex one tonne compact dumpers. “The Pop-Ups, in
particular, have been an excellent investment, generating over £2m
of annual revenue at good returns. We are now investing much more
wisely and, even more importantly, we are robust in cleansing the
slow moving and obsolete stock from our fleet.”
In similar fashion, Hire Station’s specialist activities have also
received considerable investment. To ensure the continued growth at
ESS Safeforce, nearly £2m has been invested in the last year.
In addition to expanding its training activity “to offer the largest
number of confined space training courses in the UK from seven
locations”, ESS has recently invested in breathing air trailers after
recognising that current products on the market were somewhat
antiquated. “These products have proven to be an instant hit with Part of ESS Safeforce‘s £2m investment is in breathing air trailers.
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