It doesn’t say anything good about my eyesight, that I sailed past the highly prominent signage for Leicester-based Premier Plant & Tool Hire, resulting in an unnecessary detour and a later than planned arrival for my meeting with Sales Director Neil Heaton. I needn’t really have worried, as Neil has more than enough on his plate without having to show me around the new depot. “I struggle to delegate,” as he later tells me.

And what a depot it is – Premier’s two main buildings surrounded by an enormous yard, with new and larger equipment in the fleet, and the steel already acquired for the next phase of development. There’s much to catch up on, but we start with the basics…

How long have you been at this new site?

“We came here just after Christmas, but the plant arrived a month or two before. When we moved in, we had two units, a quarter of the yard and a workshop. The rest of it was a builder’s merchant company, but they left, and we took the whole site – we don’t have the other depot anymore.”

The former Leicester depot did not have much space for storage, and rather less for external display. It’s pretty much the exact opposite now, with Premier’s new site occupying two-acres, two main buildings and all the space they need to store, maintain and service equipment. Putting a figure on it, Premier now has over 400 machines – “We run anything from micro diggers up to 22 tonnes, telehandlers from four to 20 metres, and we’ve just added Zoomlion access equipment to the fleet. We offer and range of machines, alongside investing heavily into our fleet to ensure we meet the diverse needs of our customers.

Is there any electric plant in the fleet and are you looking at adding any other sorts of equipment?

“Yes, we have six metre JCB telehandlers – we don’t have any electric diggers just yet, although I’m not sure if battery technology is really the way forward. Otherwise, we’re looking at portable buildings, site pumps and Quad-Vac roadsweepers, which is a significant investment for next year. We’re also developing the access side of the business.”

It isn’t just the fleet that has grown. How many staff do you now have?

“We have a team of 26. With more starting in November, we are always looking to recruit alongside the growth of our business.”

Recruitment has been a problem in some quarters. How has it been for you?

“It is always challenging to find the right people in our industry, but we have been quite lucky in recruiting a really talented team from all over the hire industry – We are working closely CITB and our first apprentice, Morgan, who has recently been enrolled at college, we definitely see the potential in this as it looks to bring young people into our industry, as this has become so what difficult in the past years.”

The new Premier depot is in Narborough, some six and a half miles south-west of Leicester city centre. What has the move meant, in terms of customers?

“It has been fantastic. The site really is impressive and really stands out from any other hire companies. What we offer is a one stop shop for our trade customers, but we

also offer a friendly welcome for the public. Its great to see the customer base develop along with our site.”

I understand that construction and civil engineering contractor Winvic is a significant customer of yours. What can you tell me about that?

“We’d dealt with a couple of the owners, many years ago. When we set this place up, we continued to develop our relationship with them, which has grown strongly from that point as we feel we offer a great service for all of their sites. We have recently invested 3 million pounds into Quad-Vacs, these are due to land with us early next year and we can’t wait to see them on site! As well as Winvic, we also supply to many other major clients.”

You were involved in sales when we first met. Is this something you still offer?

“Consumable sales remains a big part of what we do – we have over 10,000 items in our catalogue, and this accounts for between ten and 15 percent of our business.”

I imagine that your job has changed a great deal since you moved here. How do you spend your days now?

“Up to 90 percent of my time is taken up with the Winvic account. Their involvement has helped to transform the business, so we need to respond to their needs. Otherwise, I still come in on a Saturday to work with the lads and wash the machinery down. I’ll do anything, as long as the customer is happy and we’re putting out a certain standard of kit.”

Lastly, I couldn’t help noticing a large pile of steel girders as I came in. Are you looking at further development?

“We’re planning a new extension, which will double the size of our main building. Currently, we’re running our plant hire from there, but the new extension will just be for tool hire. With having the space, we have now, we are always looking for the next step to evolve, develop and grow, this includes other categories of our industry, for example we a looking to supply aggregates from our site by the end of the year which will expand our offering to our customers. The world is really our oyster.”

Indeed so – Premier Plant & Tool Hire really has been on a significant journey since we last met the company. As for its prospects in the Passionate Hirer Awards, well, we will just have to see. The PHA winners will be announced at the free Networking Party on the first evening of the 2025 Executive Hire Show.

Premier Plant & Tool Hire’s new depot is a sight to be seen. Find out more and take a look at the fleet at https://premierplantandtoolhire.co.uk