Fleet hire company expands after seizing opportunities during pandemic
Dawsongroup emc, a contract hire supplier of industrial, municipal and specialist vehicles, has broken ground on a new site in West Yorkshire following a 42% increase in turnover in the past two years.
The Brighouse-based firm, which has been operating from Armytage Road since 2005 when it acquired Northern Municipal Spares Ltd, will build a facility on the existing site and a neighbouring piece of land, bringing all its operations under one roof.
The 26,000 sq ft site, which will comprise office space, a service and maintenance workshop, and vehicle storage, is set to open in autumn 2024. The current team has relocated to temporary premises half a mile away until the construction phase is complete.
Demonstrating the firm’s further investment in Yorkshire, the new facility will cater for the firm’s growing team, which has increased by 30% in the past two years.
Following significant diversification of its fleet, and major investment in alternative fuels, Dawsongroup emc now works with some of the largest local authorities in the UK, including Leeds City Council, Wakefield Council, Bradford Council and Calderdale Council.
The employer also works with contractors such as Amey, Balfour Beatty, Kier and Colas. And it is the only UK contract hire company which deals with JCB directly for the Pothole Pro machine.
Over the past five years, Dawsongroup emc has doubled the size of its business, and plans to do the same again by 2028.
Paul Beddows, sales director, said: “Despite the challenges currently facing the fleet industry, we have enjoyed significant growth over the past few years. This is down to our ability to buy the right equipment at the right time in the right quantities.
“Thanks to our planning and foresight, we have been able to identify opportunities that competitors saw as barriers.
“For example, during the pandemic, when other suppliers were cancelling orders, we bought more assets than ever, in anticipation of the vehicle shortages we saw in late 2020/early 2021.
“This meant we had the stock ready and waiting for local authorities and contractors who found themselves let down by other suppliers.
“While many other contract hire firms were hit hard by the pandemic, we actually grew by 42%.”
Looking to the future, the business has further growth plans and intends to break into new sectors, including fleet, utilities and construction.
Beddows added: “Having grown at pace in recent years, we had outgrown our old site significantly.
“The new facility will not only support our growing headcount and vehicle fleet, but it will also enable us to grow our first-class service and maintenance offer, which is what sets us apart from our rivals.”
