John Freeman, MD of Hire! Freeman, Telford
“ As I see it, it is time for
business interests to be properly consulted and their views factored into the complex negotiations. Enough of the politics, though these are of course extremely worrying. Who would have thought that in
the lifetime of the few left who fought in WW2 we would see a neo-Nazi party holding a part of government in Austria? Right wing parties gain an increasing share of the vote in many of the EU countries, where the British, perhaps with the demise of UKIP, have rejected this dangerous course. With a population of around 66.6m the UK is a huge market, second only to
Germany within Europe. In a plant hire context, we are one of the most valuable markets for items of construction related equipment, and one of the largest in the world for mini excavators. The politicians and much of the media should realise that trade is two-way! It is in the interest of many of our European neighbours to retain good trading relations with us. We will in turn be more able to access global markets, and seek fresh agreements. Two areas that should be addressed: 1) LGV driver CPC requirements for UK
drivers should be re-evaluated; 2) emissions regulations on commercial vehicles should be scrutinised as, at present, engines are less fuel efficient than they were, in order to meet these regulations. The decreased available payload to carry the necessary equipment also adds to fuel consumption - utterly counterproductive. The Volkswagen debacle has exposed the chicanery in the automotive sector!
David Johnstone, MD, Your Equipment Solutions, Falkirk
“ The construction
industry relies heavily on foreign migrant labour for skilled and non-skilled roles. Currently EU membership guarantees the right to free movement, and without a deal on this the skills shortage could worsen. If immigration is limited, particularly for skilled workers, the UK could witness higher project costs where labour demand outstrips supply. This would have a knock-on effect on the whole construction supply chain, which would undoubtedly put pressure on hire rates. A very high proportion of equipment we purchase for our hire
” “
Graham Dobbs, MD of inspHire inspHire are in a very different situation to many of
the other companies involved in our industry in that we are not moving physical bits of kit around so our challenges are very different. Our people are key to our success and having free movement, albeit not on a permanent or long- term basis, is important to us; but I don’t believe it should be an issue to allow our team to travel for short periods to service our customers in the EU. We have had an office in Europe for over ten years and would utilise that more if it became difficult to service clients from the UK. However, we rely on our customers and they will face
greater challenges if trade deals are not agreed. Many of our international clients have operations in the UK and so shipping equipment across borders could face unforeseen challenges. That said, I am confident we will all find a way of continuing to deal with each other as it is in the best interests of all to have a non-obstructive trading position.
” “
Matthew Hill, MD of Obart Pumps Brexit scenario planning is a difficult
exercise as so much remains unknown. There are so many possible outcomes, with so many short and long-term issues to consider, with little certainty either way, so we cannot make any plans. A no-deal looks increasingly realistic, which is hitting the value of sterling already and this can only get worse as we get closer to exit day. Price increases on all our imported
products seem likely without a deal… unless Mrs May pulls a last minute rabbit out of the hat. We’ve had no time either to think about the impact on our employees, compliance and so on, and had only limited feedback from our foreign suppliers who seem nervous about the future prospects of their UK market. Is a recession looming?
” 13
fleet is imported from the EU and membership allowed for the free movement of goods, eliminating duties and other restrictions. The lack of a trade deal increases the risk of potential higher capital costs for my fleet, which would lead to increased hire rates, but with the aforementioned potential pressure on construction I would find myself in a bit of a quandary!
” “
Alan Batty, MD of Bomag (GB) Any importer or exporter needs a trade agreement in
place with the EU post- Brexit to ensure a seamless flow of goods and services, and to avoid any additional, unnecessary and costly bureaucracy in importing/exporting. Such an agreement would ensure short-term stability, although it may restrict our exporting options in the longer term. Unfortunately, I believe, a hard Brexit or a no-deal scenario
would unnecessarily extend the two years of confusion and public debate that we’ve already endured, and which has undermined business confidence and stifled investment. The Government needs to get-on with its major infrastructure investment programmes, such as HS2 and Highways England RIS1/2, that will boost the economy during the transitional period whether we have a trade agreement in place with the EU or not. In my
view, holding the negotiations with the EU in the public domain has been a very negative and damaging process. And it certainly hasn’t created a positive working environment for anyone to operate in. The sooner we have clarity with the least disruption to the flow of goods, the better.
”
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