Plant hire giant invests £10m to ensure four-hour delivery service
Construction equipment and services provider Speedy has invested £10m in new products for its four-hour guaranteed delivery promise, to meet rising customer demand for quick site deliveries.
The investment adds 25,000 new assets to the Newton-le-Willows-based company’s most popular 350 products made available through the service.
It will boost the availability of equipment from lighting towers to power tools and materials handling kit from the firm’s network of 200 service centres across the UK and Ireland.
The hire provider has fulfilled 13,000 four-hour deliveries in the past 12 months, which represents a 30% year-on-year increase for the service from customers.
Through the service, Speedy guarantees equipment to be delivered within four hours to anywhere in the UK and selected parts of Ireland when ordered before 3pm, or customers receive a week’s free hire.
The £10m investment follows the £27m invested in new kit since September last year as the business responded to increases in customer activity.
A significant percentage of this was in sustainable products, including increased investment in more sustainable battery-powered equipment aligned with its strategy to reduce the carbon output of its hire fleet through investment in solar, hybrid, electric and hydrogen technology.
Dan Evans, chief operating officer at Speedy, said: “The growing demand for our four-hour delivery promise reflects the value it’s providing our customers, helping them to be more productive and complete projects on time by giving them quick access to essential site equipment.
“This latest investment boosts the availability of our top products throughout the UK. It provides our customers with the reassurance that we can support them to get the job done on time, so that they can avoid costly delays to the projects they are working on.”
Speedy became the first hire firm to promise same-day delivery on tools and equipment in May 2018, by launching Capital Commitment through a trial for construction contractors operating in London,
Set up by a team led by London and South East regional director Dan Rice, the scheme was enhanced to a four-hour UK-wide delivery promise in January 2020, with the company expanding the available range from 52 to 350 products in September last year.
Dan Rice said: “What started as a trial in London has developed into a major nationwide operation which is now core to our unique service promise to customers. Continual investment in new products and digital infrastructure has been essential to achieving this, digitising the hire journey for the benefit of our customers. We look forward to continue building on this success to help businesses across the UK to deliver their projects safely and efficiently.”