JCB secures £14m plant hire order
STAFFORDSHIRE excavator manufacturer JCB has begun the New Year as it ended the old by a securing a major order for its products from a leading plant hire firm.
Manchester-based Hewden is expanding its hire fleet and has signed a £14m deal with the Rocester firm for hundreds of its iconic machines.
The order is for a range of JCB products including Loadall telescopic handlers, JCB mini excavators, tracked and wheeled excavators and the new 3CX Eco backhoe loaders. It is one of the biggest single deals ever landed by JCB.
Tim Burnhope, JCB Group Managing Director for Product Development and Commercial Operations, said: “To sign a deal of this magnitude with a company of such standing as Hewden is a fantastic way to start 2011.
“It speaks volumes for the strength of the JCB brand and the quality of our machines that a major player has chosen JCB products when investing so heavily in a new fleet of machines.”
Jeff Schofield, Sales and Marketing Director at Hewden, said: “This investment is a major development of our fleet. We have selected the best product in each category, based on the clear preferences of our customers.
“JCB’s products have an enviable reputation in the marketplace and we look forward to working with them to deliver new levels of safety, reliability and performance to customers.”
The telescopic handlers and backhoe loaders will be made at JCB’s World headquarters in Rocester, the mini excavators at JCB Compact Products, Cheadle and the tracked and wheeled excavators at JCB Heavy Products, Uttoxeter. The machines will be supplied through JCB dealer Gunn JCB.
Hewden is the UK’s leading multi product specialist hire company and provides equipment rental and contract management services to key businesses in virtually every sector of British industry.
News of the investment is a shot in the arm for the UK’s construction sector and could herald a recovery in the industry.
Hewden’s customers vary from small professional building firms to large construction contractors. Its fleet includes construction plant, access equipment, cranes, power generators and site accommodation units. The hire firm employs almost 1,400 employees in a network of 47 depots across the UK.
