PROFILE HUBBWAY PLANT HIRE
Hubbway has a fleet of branded trucks, and maintains a network of haulage
suppliers nationwide to help extend its reach. Barrow boys
Hard work is its own reward, as the saying goes. Enter Nick Hubb of Hubbway Plant Hire, whose assiduous attitude has culminated in one of the country’s finest facilities.
Nick Hubb, the second generation owner of Hubbway Plant Hire, is modest in his achievements. His state-of-the-art premises, his substantial fleet of telehandlers, fuel bowsers, construction and agricultural vehicles, the looming tower crane in his yard and his reach far beyond his local area are all the result of luck rather than judgement, he says. He does concede that the harder he works, the luckier he gets, however, and he has learned the ropes along the way. Where did it all begin?
Cramlington, nine miles north of Newcastle, which had much more warehouse and storage space. We outgrew those premises three years ago and have now dropped tool hire, as it’s such a competitive market, and this has allowed to focus more on plant.”
“We’re opportunists
“The business was created by my father,” says Nick. “He started his career in agriculture, but he realised that he couldn’t control his own destiny, so he rented a garage offering fuel and car repairs. This was in the heyday of deep mine coaling, and Ellington Colliery had wanted to hire a van. He wasn’t in the hire business at the time, but he bought a van to rent out. Alcan in Lynemouth was another key customer early on. They wanted to hire a drill, so that’s how we got into tool hire.
really - barrow boys, moving what needs to move and seeing opportunities before others do.”
The man himself, MD Nick Hubb.
“Prior to this, he had Mazda and Peugeot dealerships. He was unhappy being dictated to by the manufacturers, so he packed that in and started concentrating on vehicle rental and plant and tool hire. We sold the vehicle rental business in 1999 and bought our first hire depot on a four-acre site in
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“There’s been no clever strategy to our success. We have just worked hard, delivered what the customer wants, when he wants it. We’re not necessarily the cheapest, but we’ve always tried to offer a service where we can take a problem away. We’re opportunists really - barrow boys, moving what needs to move and seeing opportunities before others do.”
Nick joined the business as an apprentice plant fitter. Why choose this route, rather than starting at a
senior level and working alongside his father?
“I think you can’t beat working up from ground level to understand the nuts and bolts,” Nick explains. “Also, if you start in an elevated position you might not understand how a business really works.”
Indeed not. So, looking at the size and shape of the business as it is today, what sort of customers does the company have on its books?
“It ranges from a Scottish Highland estate to a Ministry of Defence rocket launch site to open air festivals and power networks. We have equipment going as far as the south coast of England and we’ve supplied to Dounreay Power Station at the top end of Scotland - probably about 60% of our business is outside the local area,” says Nick.
“A lot of this work is for specialist equipment, such as tractors or rotary and heavy-lift telehandlers. We also have a lot of loyal customers in construction, who will take us from job to job. Our sales force is the key, and they always keep their ears to the ground looking for the next opportunities. I think in business you’ve got to be willing to do that, but many don’t.”
Hubbway’s new premises is designed to enhance efficiency and
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