Hire expectations in US as Ashtead eyes growth

There is still considerable growth potential for plant hire in America, according to George Burnett, chief executive of Ashtead, the parent company of both A-Plant and Sunbelt Rentals. “Currently 38% of machinery is supplied by rental companies and studies show there is a potential for that to increase to 50%,” he said.

Sunbelt Rental has 208 depots throughout the US and Burnett believes it would take 700 to cover the territory.

Rather than blanket coverage, Burnett intends to expand by replicating its clustering of depots in major population centres.

In the UK, A-Plant has announced a five-year preferred supplier contract with Tube Lines worth around £1m, a sole-supplier deal with Skanska on the Mansfield Hospital and King’s Mill Acute Hospital projects, and a one-year extension to its sole-supplier contract with National Grid.

UK sales director Gary Thompson said: “Such contracts now account for almost 40% of A-Plant’s turnover, but the largest single deal only represents 2% of the business. We have over 36,000 individual customers,” he added.

The hirer is helping reinforce site safety with a free information pack containing posters, stickers, hand-arm vibration leaflets and a 60-page handbook covering topics such as safe use of access scaffolds and ladders, manual handling and working in confined spaces.

In a separate development, Ashtead is putting £11m proceeds into its now closed final-salary pension scheme to fill a ‘black hole’ in the fund. However, Burnett said he was enjoying work and not currently considering taking advantage of the pension scheme.