Hird heads west

Mini cranes, glass lifting and powered access rental specialist Hird has expanded has opened of a new depot in the West Midlands, UK.

The company’s western operational hub in Halesowen will offer its full range of equipment and training courses. It fills a gap in Hird’s hire network, allowing the company to offer its services throughout the West of England.

The new depot has 20,000 square feet of  indoor space for storage and machine maintenance and is the regional centre for the company’s industrial training services. Hird managing director Phil Hird said, “We’ve planned this move for some time and we’re already extremely pleased with the level of interest in our services in the West Midland region and beyond.

“We’re located just 10 minutes from the M5 with fantastic transport connections throughout central and west England and into Wales, so we’re excited to take this opportunity now.

“The Covid-19 pandemic complicated our planning, but we’ve overcome this, and our new depot is part of much longer-term strategic plans, so we’re confident that expanding at this time is the right thing to do.”

Hird has appointed Alan Peck, a highly experienced crane and plant sales and hire professional, as its area manager in the West Midlands. He said, “We’re stocking a complete range of new machines, lifting equipment and training expertise on site so we can quickly fulfil the requirements of our customers. The West Midlands is still the industrial heart of the UK so there is huge potential.

“We’re already ordering additional equipment to increase our fleet size as our stocks are been so highly utilised. Also, our ability to offer a one-stop solution to customers has seen our training courses become fully-booked within days.”

Hird has its headquarters in Hull, East Yorkshire, and now operates four depots, in Hull, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, Redhill, Surrey, and the new depot in Halesowen and specialises in Valla pick and carry cranes, Maeda tracked spider cranes and glass lifting equipment.