MARKET REPORT POWER GENERATION continued
Ultra-quiet Fusteq generators from BGG are key fleet items.
tool hire, plant hire, lifting gear or other areas that have their own Group operations. Our activity is narrow but deep, and customers deal with people who specialise in this equipment: an engineer who visits a site to service or repair a generator will not have been working on, say, a digger or dumper earlier in the day. Customers appreciate that, because reliable power is crucial for so many site operations.”
Ongoing investment in machinery
The ongoing investment in machinery reflects the operation’s growth and also helps to keep the fleet fresh. “We have one of the most modern fleets in the UK now,” said David Hunt. “Some other hirers cannot match that level of investment and we believe they may compromise other elements of service or engineering resources which plays into our hands. Customers have an appetite to do more business with us because they appreciate our service.
economy,” said David Hunt. “One contractor I spoke to said that they have installed 12 tower cranes across London recently so, Brexit or no Brexit, there is sustainable growth ahead. Two of our depots are also at either end of the current HS2 project and we are already supplying contractors working there via other Group businesses.
“We sell on service rather than price. The challenge is in maintaining our standards and the strong one-to-one relationships we have with customers, offering consistent support from the hire desks, sales team and technical team which sets us apart from other suppliers. This enables us to continuously grow the client base. It comes down to the quality of our people and our management ethos.”
The business has invested significantly in generators with Stage IIIa engines to enable customers to have continuity of supply, and it is budgeting to spend another £7m to £8m on additional sets next spring. Plans are also in place to offer Stage V machines to meet the new European emissions standards.
Ready for Stage V The Grays depot was the operation’s first.
“We are able to attract and retain great staff. We made a number of promotions to add another level of management to the business and have taken on new personnel, with more recruitment in the pipeline. We offer people a good package and our staff turnover is very low. We are a family business with family values. We empower people to be the best they can be without setting aggressive targets and, equally, they know the standards they have to meet. In fact, our people help to set those standards and make us even better, which is another reflection of our brand’s strength.
“We will have reached a total of 2,000 generators in the fleet by the end of this year. We have been adding typically over 100 units annually in recent times, as well as disposing of machines after three to four years. Our range extends from 20kVA to 1,260kVA, and sets above 100kVA can be synchronised. We take Denyo ultra-quiet machines which have noise levels of as low as 55dB at 7m. Larger sets above 100kVA are from Bruno, again including super-silent models and their ultra-quiet sets branded Fusteq. All our lighting towers now have LED lamps and we no longer offer metal halide units.”
Sustainable growth
John F Hunt Power serves a growing range of customers across a wide variety of markets, including housebuilders, general construction contractors, events, utilities, pumping, telecoms, health and marine, amongst others. “That shows the underlying strength of the
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“We will add these as soon as possible,” said Kevin Davies. “We have a commitment to have them available for our customers and we are talking to several manufacturers. John F Hunt Power will take delivery of the first Stage V generators sold by some of these suppliers, and so we will be ready. Given our steady replacement policy, it is likely that around 80% of our fleet could be Stage V machines within five years.
“We are also rolling out a new RFM (remote fleet management) system on all of our generators, having trialled it successfully for six months. It measures parameters like loadings, fuel consumption, location and issues alerts, and customers can monitor machines via an online portal. All our external fuel tanks will also be fitted with telemetry for accurate measurement and control.”
At a time when the number of electrical devices in operation keeps growing and adding to the demand for power, and with power stations being taken out of service, the need for John F Hunt Power’s services can only grow.
All John F Hunt Power’s lighting towers now have LED lamps.
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www.johnfhunt.co.uk/power
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