AT THE
HEART OF HIRE
B E C A L M A B O U T T H E B - W O R D
We don’t normally use B-words in EHN, but there is one beginning with that letter which you keep hearing a lot at the moment, and it upsets some people if you say it. However, we’re going to say it: Brexit. There - we've said it!
There’s a lot of talk about Brexit, scheduled for 29 March 2019, and it will be a historic event. We recognised this back in our September issue when we asked hirers and suppliers about the topics that should be addressed to ensure their business continues smoothly after the UK leaves the EU. We received many well-argued responses representing a range of opinions, but above all they sought clarity and certainty which, sadly, politicians are simply not delivering.
No one likes uncertainty. Brexit is being discussed frequently in domestic, commercial and political circles. Quite frankly, however, we and many other industry professionals we talk to are getting fed up with views in the national media. Many seem to delight in stressing the possible negatives about something that is yet to happen. If the glass is half full or half empty, their inclination seems to be towards the latter.
We are certainly not saying that the path ahead won’t be challenging. There is bound to be turbulence and realignment surrounding such a momentous change. As our Market Watch article on page 11 observes, business expectations in the construction sector have fallen, growth forecasts have been trimmed and companies are investing less. Nevertheless, in challenging times, people tend to hire rather than buy.
THE STRENGTH OF OUR HIRE INDUSTRY
Indeed, EHN believes that one thing IS certain, and that is the strength of our hire industry. Looking back over the past year, this magazine has been filled with reports of hirers opening new depots, recruiting more personnel and achieving record turnover figures. Similarly, suppliers keep telling us about the innovative products they are developing and the new orders they have received.
These businesses have not been unduly worried by Brexit. Rather, they are moving forward with confidence. And that theme continues
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strongly throughout this issue. On page 18, read about Clem Jacob Hire of Waterford - which won our Passionate Hirer Award in the Outstanding Single Depot Hire category at this year’s 2018 Executive Hire Show - and the remarkable story of how its founder sold the family home to fund the business. On page 48, we visit WH Surface Preparation, a specialist hirer that has just opened its fourth depot in Dudley. And on page 13, we talk to two award-winning apprentices from Charles Wilson Engineers who are enthusiastically building an exciting future in our industry.
Suppliers are just as positive, reflected by our news pages starting overleaf. And as part of our Market Report on Compact Plant on page 20, we talk to the recently appointed CEO of Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK), who has this to say about the B-word: “There could be a dip beforehand, as there was prior to the most recent general elections, the Brexit referendum and the Scottish independence referendum. However, after the Brexit referendum there was a bounce back - within a month sales were above what they had been previously.” It is also significant that there are many infrastructure projects already under way or signed off, like HS2 and the Thames Tideway Scheme, and the government recently signalled its commitment to house building.
Rather than being worried by the B-word, our industry is moving forward with confidence. And that is why we are introducing the branding you can see above, as well as alongside our masthead and on many articles throughout this issue. We intend to keep using it in the coming months to serve as a regular reminder to trust your own real-life observations rather than national media opinion. In the long term, the world will keep turning, life will go on, and people will still need to hire equipment to get jobs done.
So, let’s move forward with confidence. We certainly are as we look ahead to an exciting 2019, and not least to the Executive Hire Show in February, our industry’s main annual event, which is shaping up to be another record-breaker. We’ll tell you much more about that in our next issue.
MOVING FORWARD WITH CONFIDENCE
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