MARKET REPORT GARDENING & LANDSCAPING
Growth continues
Despite some slight uncertainty arising from factors as diverse as the political outlook and the weather, grounds care equipment hirers remain busy.
Being able to supply kit quickly is an essential hire requirement, and the gardening and landscaping market is no exception. Indeed, the increasing trend towards unpredictable weather means that contractors and homeowners have to seize windows of opportunity during dry conditions, and they expect machines to be available when they need them.
“A lot of people almost regard in the same way as they would a Tesco Extra store, open round the clock, seven days a week,” said Andy Lathwell, Manager of the Hire Division of the George Browns dealership based in Leighton Buzzard. “We receive a surprising number of calls and messages on Sundays from contractors who need equipment for the next day, having seen the forecast. We have to meet the demand and it certainly keeps us busy.
“We have had another good year of business. Several national hirers have been re-hiring machines from us to meet demand arising out of national agreements they have with larger contractors undertaking a range of public services, from refuse collection to grounds maintenance. We have established good links with customers like landscaping contractors and local councils, and there are still a surprising number of organisations that are just realising the benefits of hiring equipment rather than buying and maintaining it themselves.
“We continue to increase our hire fleet, with recent purchases including more Kubota and Toro ride-on rotary and flail mowers, and GreenMech chippers. Enquiries come from people across a wider area. We generally cover a radius of up to 40 miles to ensure
Acacia reports keen demand from landscapers for its Predator stump grinder.
we can provide prompt service backup, but if a customer is competent in maintenance we may go further afield. Birmingham is probably our northern limit, while our other hire depot in Great Dunmow, Essex, can cover an area as far as the eastern coast and down to east London.”
Interest from across a wide area
Covering an area roughly to the south of Browns’ geographical area is Acacia Groundcare Equipment Rental, based in Henfield, West Sussex, which also reports interest from across a wide area. “We sometimes receive enquiries from people in regions like Norfolk and, even, Scotland, and we refer them to other hirers we know nearer to them,” Director Ritain Patel told EHN. “Together with our other depot near Basingstoke, Mowers UK - which we acquired two years ago and also has a successful retail operation - we can cover most of the south and south east of England.
“We celebrate our tenth anniversary in December and the business has grown steadily over that time. Our Henfield facility has a 5,000ft2 footprint with 3,000ft2
of yard space. When we moved in initially, Kubota ride-on mowers remain popular in the Browns Groundcare Hire fleet. 45
it was bigger than we needed, but now we appreciate having the space. We have added to the fleet again this year, a recent purchase having been two Predator stump grinders which are popular with landscapers and tree surgeons. They typically hire it for one or two days to deal with material that has accumulated on a site in one go. Basingstoke mainly offers smaller equipment and is also a dealer for brands such as Stihl, Honda, Etesia and Toro. Demand for larger equipment is handled by Henfield.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60