Covid -19 demand for Instant Tool and Plant Hire’s JCB fleet

Newly established UK company Instant Tool and Plant Hire, which supplies JCB equipment, has reported demand for its small plant and tools driven by Covid-19.

Founded 12 months ago in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire (northern England), the company runs a fleet of 20 JCB machines. These include micro and mini excavators with associated attachments, compaction rollers, tracked dumpsters, site dumpers and access equipment.

Instant Tool and Plant Hire proprietors Andy and Joanne Macartney say the firm's 20-strong fleet of JCB machinery is in demand due to DIY projects during the UK lockdown.

The new JCB equipment, worth more than £300,000, was supplied by local dealer Gunn JCB and was an early investment for Instant Tool and Plant Hire.

Of the purchase Instant Tool and Plant Hire Director Joanne Macartney said, “Supporting a British manufacturer was important to us, as was the ability to source the bulk of our wide-ranging fleet from one place. There was also great synergy with a local, successful business still run by the founding family to this day.”

Instant Tool and Plant Hire is owned by husband-and-wife team Andy and Joanne Macartney (pictured), who say demand for its small plant and tools for hire has been driven by a boom in DIY and gardening projects during the summer lockdown. The company has also attracted business from small building and landscape firms throughout the region.

Meanwhile, in its first year of trading, it also purchased the business of Castle Tool Hire, also based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Instant Tool and Plant Hire is open seven days a week and operates a 24-hour support line. The majority of its customers are in Staffordshire and Cheshire.