High Profile

Uncategorised,General

They may be the UK’s largest specialist excavator hire company, but just so you don’t miss them, every vehicle of H.E. SERVICES (Plant Hire) Ltd carries a collection of very prominent fluorescent red name flashes as a ‘subtle’ reminder of their existence. 

HUGE FLEET

H.E. boasts a fleet exceeding 3,500 items of plant which are offered for hire nationwide, via ten strategically located depots, one of which is at Strood in Kent, almost opposite Pirtek Medway.

ONLY THE BEST

“We only purchase the most advanced and productive machines available from manufacturers such as JCB, Komatsu, Hydrema, Terex, Amman, Manitou and Thwaites, and then we only keep them for between two and three years,” said company service manager, Paul Holder.   “But we still get machines damaged and, inevitably, the occasional rare breakdown. So it makes sense to have a reliable specialist outside supplier for things like hydraulic hoses repairs.  It’s far more cost effective to keep our fitters here or on scheduled work, and use Pirtek for site work, particularly as this depot covers the south east, London, up to the M25 in the north, and as far as Worthing on the south coast.”

PREPARATION

As Holder explains, it is not just geographic reach but diversity of fleet that requires Pirtek’s assistance.   “Because we run a very diverse fleet from 1.5 tonne mini diggers to 49 tonne, 22 metre long reach excavators, along with dumpers, rollers and telehandlers, with a huge range of accessories and attachments, it’s always good to know we can source all our quick fit couplings and the odd fittings from Pirtek,” he says.

CUSTOMER TRENDS

“This depot alone has well over 300 pieces of kit to look after, plus we do all the new machine preparation and service the old fleet vehicles prior to disposal, usually overseas.   On top of this we fit quick-hitches and ram guards to the fleet, which prevents a lot of damage and cuts down on downtime. After all we can’t have unhappy customers.   We pride ourselves on providing the best machines possible, at the shortest notice, and in the best condition. We keep a close eye on customer trends, which is why we are now purchasing tracked dumpers for specialised low ground pressure work.  But every machine goes through a 58 point pre-hire inspection checks and arrives on site with full documentation which includes maintenance, service & test certificates. H.E. Services runs a 24 hour service with a dedicated out of hours telephone. Plus of course we have Pirtek to help on site as a back-up.”

Just so readers don’t assume that the HE Services maintenance yard has a lake, when the interview took place, Kent experienced some of the worse thunderstorms on record which emptied over 2” of rain in little over an hour onto the site.  This did not prevent Paul from showing off one of the new 49 tonne Komatsu excavators he was preparing for service, nor showing off the old fleet awaiting disposal.