Hirers tend to have their favourite hand-tools. Ox kit makes for an eye-catching display, however.
Five years is not a long time in hire, and much of that involved the struggle of developing the business to its current state. Even so, the recent lockdown must have come as a shock. How has trading been affected?
“In January we did better than in any month last year, but we shut down completely when the lockdown came on March 23. After a month we opened up to service one of our biggest clients. However, the phone was soon ringing off the hook.
“We’re up compared to last year, in spite of being closed for a month, and we’re still growing strongly. Just this month I invested over £25K in new equipment and it was probably the same last month too. I’m really stoked, but I get satisfaction from seeing how other people benefit. Right now I’m looking at the government Kickstarter scheme to see if we can take somebody on as an apprentice.”
'Laura' and chum in for maintenance.
Much of the business uplift is attributed to returning customers, and a continuation of the growth seen earlier in the year. In terms of the clients themselves, Angus is sure which side his bread is buttered on.
“Some people think I’m barking mad, but we do not serve large house builders or big groundworks companies – we’ve been approached by a few now, but we turn them away,” he says. “We purely focus on small builders, property developers and the domestic market, and there’s plenty of that business out there for us. I much prefer lots of smaller, high value jobs to larger long-term contracts that would be more expensive to maintain.”
Well, the hire industry is certainly large enough that it can sustain businesses of all shapes, sizes and specialities. How, then, do potential customers get to find about the company in the first place?
“It’s quite simple, really – we are very strong on Google,” says Angus. “I write blogs on the website that contain the right keywords, so there’s content there that customers are already researching and which Google can easily find. I’ve never bought an advert on Google, but we rank
Sam Hoye and Mark Turner keep the wheels in motion behind the scenes.
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highly. About a third of our business comes from the website, although word-of-mouth recommendations are also increasing at the moment.”
This begs the question about the sort of kit that customers are looking for. G.A. Plant and Tool Hire offers a broad range of typical equipment, but it’s hard to miss the substantial GreenMech chipper parked outside, which is perhaps less standard for a company of this size.
“We’d been running a 3'' domestic chipper, but customers were using it to chip conifer trees, then wondering why it wasn’t working,” Angus explains. “A big advantage of GreenMech equipment is that we can sharpen the blades in-house. I like to be able to maintain kit and look after it properly, which is a speciality of ours. Also, GreenMech are a bit like me – small and independent!
“For other equipment, we’ve just bought a 12 metre Niftylift cherry-picker, which is towable and helps to reduce delivery costs. We’re expanding, but we’ve always bought kit as we’ve needed it. I didn’t have a digger when I started, but I’ve got 11 Kubotas now. I’m also pleased with our scaffolding towers, which are great quality and are made by an independent British company called UTS.”
With success in many, and it has to be said, quite disparate areas, Angus is plainly ambitious. As his yard fills up and business continues to grow, where next for the company and does he regret leaving his flying days behind?
“The only new area that we will probably expand into is the servicing and repair of domestic horticultural machinery. A local supplier is closing down, so there are further opportunities to grow this side of the business,” says Angus. “In five years I’d like to see us in this location, but with more space – I’m already speaking to my landlord about that. “I’m happy with where I am now and I see this taking me through to retirement. However, I think I knocked ten years off my life in the first three years. It’s the same with many small businesses, but if I was my younger self with the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t – not on your nelly!
And that forthright admission is a fitting place to conclude. My thanks to Angus and his team for an entertaining visit, and great to find a company that is happy and flourishing in its niche.
See
www.gaplant.co.uk for more details, and perhaps a few Google keyword pointers.
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