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with Ron Cater /
While car-hire has forged ahead in recent years as has growth in such fields as TV rental, with their obvious service and capital-cost advantages to the user, developments in the vehicle-hiring field have been by no means spectacular. However, with the continuing increases in the capital cost of rolling stock, the hiring of semi-trailers of one type or another has now begun to gain momentum.
A Manchester-based company which claims to be Manchester's trailer centre is offering comprehensive services under which hauliers can hire almost any type of semi-trailer at what appear to be particularly attractive rates. For instance, a 30ft skeletal equipped with locks to handle 20or 30ft-long ISO containers and plated to operate at gross train weights of up to 32 tons can be hired for £13 14s a week. Similarly, a 10-metre TIR semi-trailer for 30 tons g.v.w. costs as little as £16 lOs per week.
Moving into the more expensive types of equipment, a 5,000 gal petroleum products tanker semi-trailer is hired at the rate of £24 14s weekly; a low-loading 16-ton, 22ft-bed machinery carrier costs £12 8s.
Hiring can be contracted by the day, week, month or year and the lessor contracts to take care of maintenance, tyre replacement, and the facility to swop any type of semi-trailer for any alternative type that is available if required.
The name of the organization offering these services is Manchester Trailer Hire Ltd., of Ashburton Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1QU (telephone 061-872 3360) and the contact is Mr. W. Battersby.
Other services offered by the trailer centre are spares and repairs, the phone numbers on the same exchange as above—being 5258 and 2734 respectively. The contact in the repair department is Mr. Roland and in the spares department Mr. J. Ellis.