Auctions have played a large part in disposing of Hewden ‘non core’ fleet.
where Hewden operates a fully functional depot within a refinery, like Grangemouth, to serve the main contractor and sub-contractors on site throughout the year, especially during shutdown periods. These industrial locations have not seen anywhere near the decline in numbers that Hewden’s plant depot network has suffered.
According to Marketing Director Jeff Schofield, “the advantage of this operation is that contracts are in place for the long term. There is no significant difference in fleet holding between industrial and plant depots, and we move equipment between the two to wherever a customer needs it. Tools remain part of our industrial operation, but there is not a Stihl saw to be seen in any of our plant depots.”
Core fleet of most-hired equipment
Another key element in re-defining the modern Hewden has been to establish its core fleet of most-hired plant and access platforms. Jeff Schofield states, “we analysed 100,000 hire transactions to determine what customers actually hired from us.”
This feedback led to the creation of a fleet that comprises JCB and Caterpillar excavators from 1.5 tonne to 20 tonne, including backhoe loaders, JCB and Caterpillar telescopic handlers from 7m to 17m, together with JCB rough terrain fork lift trucks, Thwaites dumpers from 3 tonne to 9 tonne, and Genie and JLG powered access platforms, in the form of telescopic booms and scissor lifts, with working heights from 26ft to 60ft. The formation of this 30 product core fleet has also enabled Hewden to consolidate its procurement process, ordering from fewer suppliers.
In February last year, Hewden added a guarantee to this core fleet. “The guarantee is a first in the hire industry and offers a next day delivery on the most hired plant and access machines in our fleet, or the customer receives a credit of £100. Since its launch, we are achieving an on-time success rate of 98.78%.
“The success of the
scheme,
coupled with increasing construction activity across the UK, has seen increasing demand for our core fleet, in particular telehandlers.” Hewden has recently placed a £25m order with Finning for more than 450 new Caterpillar telehandlers, and the deal is said to be the largest order Finning has received for this product. In addition, Hewden is committing a further £10m investment in JCB excavators and Thwaites dumpers, with a further £7m on powered access.
As the UK’s second largest crane operator, comprising 50 cranes over 100 tonne operating capacity and 150 machines in total, Hewden has also invested £9m to increase and refresh this fleet. The total fleet investment is quoted at £51m.
Recovery plan complete
All this leads Kevin Parkes to conclude, “it has been an interesting journey, to say the least, over the last three and a half years, but we are coming out of it fitter and stronger. The recovery plan is complete. It’s now all about growth.
“We are a £120m turnover operation and are enjoying our best plant hire utilisation for seven years. We are also growing our level of business with strategic customers, especially in heavy industry and petrochemical contractors. We have a clear product offering in plant, power, access, cranes and accommodation, an efficient distribution network that supports customer coverage and the Hewden core fleet is a compelling proposition. We will continue to over-invest in the next three years to accelerate our capital recovery. Hewden will continue to have a big voice in the hire industry.”
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www.hewden.co.uk
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