CONTRACT HIRE
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With rental back on track, sales director Steve Stanton has switched his attention to contract hire. “It was difficult through 2010 as people weren’t eager to commit to five years, but confidence was starting to return,” he says.
“Towards the back end of 2010 there were the first signs that confidence was there to commit to five years. We now have people committed to 2014 and 2016, and beyond.” The current contract hire portfolio stands at 600 vehicles and more than 50 regional service agents.
Customers tend to be own-account operators with fleet sizes of from five to 20 vehicles who see transport as a means of getting their product to market rather than another profit avenue.
“It’s companies that sneak under the radar for the major logistic businesses,” he says. “We try to act as a consultant and get the right vehicle for the operation.
“We would like to add 80 new vehicles a year and we are currently on target. The first 80 will be the most difficult. The economists say there will be a flatline in the economy, but we are on target to get that first 80. As confidence grows, we hope that rental customers will change over to contract hire vehicles.”