22.11.2016
Ashtead acquires Hewden
UK/US rental group Ashtead has acquired the Hewden name along with its powered access and lifting gear assets from EY, which was appointed as the administrator for the company after it was unable to refinance its loans.
The deal through Ashtead’s UK operation A-Plant is worth £29 million in cash and includes the powered access and power generation fleet, five ‘on-site’ depots which service major petrochemical customers, the Interlift lifting gear and handling business and the Hewden brand name. A number of Hewden employees will also join the A-Plant business. The Hewden powered access fleet consisted of 802 boom and scissor lifts, 561 of them boom lifts, it was the 18th largest fleet in the UK.
Adding them to the A-plant fleet makes that company the Fourth largest aerial lift fleet in the UK but gives it the third largest boom lift fleet after Nationwide Platforms and HSS/UK Platforms.
A-Plant's chief executive Sat Dhaiwal, said: "This acquisition significantly enhances A-Plant's offering in the industrial sector where we have been keen to develop our capabilities for some time. We are pleased to be taking over a number of important on-site depots at major petrochemical facilities and will ensure that a high level of service is maintained for all customers through the integration process. I would also like to welcome those Hewden employees who will be joining A-Plant as part of this process."
No mention was made of the 141 All Terrains in the crane fleet or the 970 telehandlers, not to mention the earth moving equipment. It is clear from this move that EY has virtually given up on any hope of selling the business as a going concern. We have heard that all cranes were pulled back to their depots last night, gates locked and staff all laid off wondering if they will be paid. At least one location has already put up a 'For Rent' sign.
We will update this article as an when we learn more.
Crane lads
Anymore news.
Grumpy
I'm getting worried!!! I'm agreeing with the opinions of the lefty cranes guys.
Lets not lose the point that Hewden were putting stuff out at silly and unsustainable hire rates and were too dependent on yellow goods and the construction sector.
Jim Longstaff has it bang on.
Big Jib
Plantman has it absolutely spot on, he's taken the words right out of my mouth.
What do "wet behind the ears" graduates of the fashion industry understand about operated plant? On what level could they ever relate to a crane operator and his problems? "Why should that matter?" I hear you ask. Well I'll tell you. To understand a business you have to understand a product, and the driving force behind operated plant isn't just the crane spec, it's the guy driving the machine to site, the guy up to his knees in slurry trying to set the machine up on a slope in an area too small to fully slew 360 without his ballast hitting the scaffolding. It's the guy who misses his kids school Christmas panto because he has to work late and drive 3 hours drive from home from site.
My point is operated plant hire is specialised. You have to know your customer, but by god you have to know your product and understand the guys who deliver them to site. Without this knowledge, your customer loses all respect and confidence in both you and the company you're working for.
Hewden lost the war years ago when they started paying off experienced / knowledgeable managers, reps, hire controllers and replacing them with jack of all trades. It's been a long time coming.
And yes I agree, all these chancers on LinkedIn patting each other on the back, talking about how great both they, their colleagues and the company was over the last few years are part of the problem. Just a quick lesson in economics Mr and Mrs BA Fashion (Hons) - BUSINESS IS ABOUT MAKING MONEY. HEWDEN HAVEN'T TURNED A PROFIT IN 5 YEARS - DID YOU NOT REALISE THAT!!!
Ainscough watch out - you could be next.
Crane lads
Come on let's hear from the Union's are you going to set up a fund so we can all chip in a lot of the workers have paid Union fees for years. Now its time to really help them.
Woody
Brexit my rear end !!
Years of power hungry and over paid top end managers with a lack of experience and knowledge in the industry along with seriously poor business judgements has led to this.
Buying equipment you have no client base for was the icing on the cake like Skid Steers, Heras Fencing, untold fuel bowsers and not to mention those excavator forks :-/
This has been in the making for the last 5 years (at least) and to be honest I don't think anybody at Hewden could honestly say they didn't see it coming.
Take a team of people who were involved in the near collapse of one national hire firm (a fast red company) and stick them in charge of another and the results were all to predictable.
Let's hope everyone can find jobs and not have this upset their Christmas too much or their lives for that matter.
RIP Hewden :-(
Crane lads
I'm sure the Union can start a collection to see the workers over Xmas. Come on brothers and sisters let's step up
Plantman
The decision to remove expertise and Individuals with realtionships from National team in late 2011 and replace with Fashion and RE Graduates has come home to roost.
Shiny Suits, Branded Cars, didn't help keep the Environment Agency,Skanska,Vinci, Balfour Beatty Accounts did it????
Funny to see all these NASE all over linkedin offering sympathies when they contributed to failure of the business, worrying thing is these failures are now at other plant and accommodation companies !!!!!!
Im also wondering if a Certain Sales & Marketing director can look himself in the eye this morning...Eh ????????????
250+ employees gone from Hewden today. All cranes, crane operators, hire desk supervisors, AP'S all gone from Hewden. The company does not have enough money to pay any employees their wages. Gates locked at all depots effective immediately and in hands of EY.
Directors destroyed this company with their idiotic ideas of running a crane company all the words to customers, employees and banks finally caught up with them.
Crane lads
Really sad news I feel for the employees.
jim-longstaff
It is a sad day for the industry when a major national player falls.
I genuinely feel for the Hewden employees who seem to have been progressively hamstrung by successive owners.
When I started in this industry in the 80's the Hewden Stuart brand was a major respected name in the industry.
This MUST be a wake-up call for the entire UK hire industry to raise hire rates. Anyone can work hard selling £10 notes for £5. The cost of utilities, fuel, wages, rent and equipment are all increasing but the hire rates are not!
We as an industry need to be smart in increasing our prices to economically logical levels. The old calculation of 1%+ of the purchase price per week hire rate for a machine has to be the benchmark. Buying equipment is the easy part, maintaining it, getting it out for the right rate, charging for damage and obtaining a sensible return on transport need to be the order of the day for us all.