EXECUTIVE REPORT
Chippindale’s successful mix
Achieving 70 years in business is a rare achievement, but Chippindale Plant Ltd is celebrating exactly that. EHN traces its fascinating story.
1949 may not be remembered as a standout year in international events, but in Leeds at that time, Wilfred Chippindale was making his own local history. The Northern Area Manager for the supplier, Millers Mixers, he had been asked to relocate south. As a true Yorkshireman, he refused, resigned and with £100 of his savings, set up Chippindale, selling concrete and scaffolding from his home.
The business, once local and now regional with additional depots in Catterick, Huddersfield, Keighley, Manchester (which also has a dedicated site accommodation branch), Newcastle, Sheffield and York, has grown beyond recognition in its 70 years, but its original foundations combining family values and service are still going strong.
Leaping forward with Thwaites
Wilfred Chippindale had been known as the ‘Mixer King’ at Millers Mixers, with an excellent sales record, so unsurprisingly, Chippindale did not stay small for long. Within a year, the company moved into its first depot in Leeds and had enough money to appoint its first fitter and purchase two vans. This was followed swiftly by winning a dealership with the Wickham and Alcon Pump agency.
Thwaites dumpers were the first products to be included in the hire fleet.
Back in the 1950s, of course, plant hire was a new concept. For those construction companies keen to make a profit
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but without the funds to invest heavily in plant, hire was the ideal solution, giving them access to the newest models at competitive rates. In 1955, Chippindale started its hire division with its first hireable product, the Thwaites dumper, making a giant leap forward.
By the end of the decade, the company owned its first premises, had won further dealerships with the Bristol Compressor agency, Green Roller agency and the Bristol Crawler Tractor agency (where it sold 32 units in just 12 months). The hire fleet consequently reflected a range of mixers, dumpers, hoists, pumps and rollers.
The Chippindale team aim to combine family values with dedicated service. Chippindale states that its main
focus has always been, and continues to be, service derived from the family values inherent within the company. Wilfred Chippindale’s two sons Brian and Gordon were part of the business by 1955, and grandsons Nigel and Peter run the business today. Staff, equipment and customers are highly valued and the attentive team works with every customer on an individual basis, from sole traders to blue chip companies, to make sure each transaction is a precise fit.
“Being a family company, we can take a long term approach to investment,” says Nigel. “We are not mired in red tape as we have a flat management structure and decisions can be made and implemented very quickly. We have a loyal workforce.
In its early years, the business quickly added several equipment dealerships.
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