PROFILE LUSCOMBE PLANT HIRE
Luscombe Plant Hire has plans to expand further.
“In a good place”
Alan Guthrie visits Award-winning Luscombe Plant Hire, which has steadily expanded its operation and has plans for further expansion.
Situated in the Cumbrian market town of Ulverston in the heart of the scenic Furness peninsula in the Lake District, Luscombe Plant Hire is used to seeing a steady flow of visitors in and around its area. However, the family-run business itself is attracting an increasing footfall, owing to the steady expansion of its operation. The company has also aroused a good deal of local publicity since winning the 2017 Passionate Hirer Award in February in the Outstanding Single Depot Hire Company category.
expanding mini excavator fleet. It was then that Simon and Dan joined the hire operation full-time, with the latter being in charge of operations and logistics.
“Superb” mezzanine level
In April 2015, Luscombe Plant Hire moved into a former car repair shop with a prominent roadside location nearer the centre of Ulverston. The Award Judges were impressed by the extensive hire fleet, large well-laid out sales showroom, and a “superb” mezzanine level, added last summer, stocking workwear. “Because we have always had the construction company, we have been able to plough profits from the hire operation back into the business to expand the fleet. We have never taken wages out of it,” said Simon. “Turnover has grown by 50% over the last two years alone, and this year to date is up by 30% on the same period in 2016.”
Simon, right, Beverley and Dan Luscombe alongside their Passionate Hirer Award.
“We were absolutely delighted and very surprised to win,” MD Simon Luscombe told EHN. “When the result was announced, you could have picked my jaw up from the floor with a tow rope. You obviously try to maintain high standards and offer the best service you can, and we were thrilled to have come out on top from out of so many other hire businesses. The Award has certainly raised our profile further in our area, attracting a lot of coverage in local papers, which many customers have commented on.”
The business dates back to 2001, as an adjunct to Simon’s construction business undertaking ground works and tasks like drainage installation, as well as a speciality in building playgrounds for hotels and leisure facilities. Local people started to ask about hiring some of the company’s equipment, and the fledgling hire operation was originally based at the Luscombe family home in the small village of Arrad Foot, being managed almost single-handedly by Simon’s wife, Beverley, since he and his son, Dan, were often away working on construction projects. Business grew, necessitating the renting of a barn in 2008 to store machinery, especially an
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The workwear showroom is one of Beverley’s management responsibilities, and she refers to it as more of a boutique, with subdued lighting, tastefully painted walls and, even, a changing room. “We are meeting a local need because there is nothing like this elsewhere, and it has proved really popular,” she said. “We have two principal ranges: Scruffs workwear from BPT (Birchwood Price Tools) is the budget offering, while our premium line-up is sourced from Dassy, a Belgian supplier we discovered. We offer five complete ranges from both, in all sizes, and we can order anything else for next-day delivery. We also sell Buckler boots, and we are constantly looking for additional lines.”
The new mezzanine floor accommodates a comprehensive workwear showroom.
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