New CEO for A-Plant

Andy Wright has been appointed the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ashtead Group’s UK business A-Plant.

He will succeed Richard Thomas, who joined A-Plant as Finance Director at the end of 2011 before becoming Managing Director of the company’s specialist products division in 2015 and then its CEO in 2018.

Wright said, “I’m delighted and proud to be appointed as the CEO of A-Plant and I’m looking forward to the exciting opportunity ahead.

“A-Plant is an incredible business, that’s grown significantly in the last decade. We’ve some unbelievably talented and dedicated people that are undoubtedly experts in the markets that we operate in.”

Ashtead’s Chief Executive Brendan Horgan said, “Over the last several months, Andy has clearly demonstrated his ability to guide our organisation through a period of change in a thoughtful and inclusive manner, leveraging both his leadership and broad industry knowledge.”

Wright joined A-Plant from Speedy Hire in February 2019 as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

He has more than 30 years of experience working in the equipment rental industry in the UK and internationally, previously holding positions with Aggreko, Speedy Hire and Lavendon Group.

“When I joined A-Plant I knew that I was joining a fantastic team that were leading the way in equipment rental and everything I’ve seen in the last year has confirmed this for me,” Wright said. “We’ve undertaken a strategic review which has enabled us to make exciting and robust plans for the future.”

Wright intends to introduce new products and services, and to invest in technology that will improve the customer experience.

He will also be putting special focus on staff development by providing the appropriate tools and training for employees to achieve their career goals.

Andy added, “The scale of our capabilities is limitless and as leaders in our sector we’ll deliver a world class experience to our customers that re-define their service level expectations.”