The opening of any new depot is always fraught with challenges but a combination of putting the right staff in place and carrying out the required legwork has ensured that the opening of South West Hire and Sales Ltd’s latest branch in Exeter has hit the ground running.
“The site is already performing really well and is going from strength-to-strength,” explains Paul Curnow, Accounts Manager. “We were fortunate enough to be able to take on a salesman with substantial list of contacts in the area and he’s been able to bring through a sizeable amount of business through the door since the opening, which has set us in good stead. We’ve also got an existing depot in Torquay that covered Exeter so we did have our foot in the door within the marketplace to begin with. The aim now is to build on this initial success.”
The Exeter site is South West Hire’s fourth depot opening and has further strengthened its presence within the region. “Since Day One the plan has always been to have five or six depots in the area so opening a site in Exeter has been on the agenda for a while,” says Mr Curnow. “It’s just been a case of finding a suitable location and arranging the funding, in addition to securing the right people, which has thankfully been a fairly straightforward process.”
Part of South West Hire’s growth success has stemmed from the breadth of its offering. “We can cater for everyone from general builders through to more specialised tradesmen such as carpenters and roofers. This diversity of trades that we cover is a major strength for us, plus we’re fortunate that there’s a substantial amount of house-building currently taking place within the south-west that we have been able to capitalise on.”
“We’re forever reinvesting and as we’re governed by health and safety there’s continual alterations that need to be made to equipment and we’re very proactive in adhering to these. It’s all about making sure our equipment is safe, up-to-date and as good as it can possibly be.”
Paul Curnow, Accounts Manager
As its estate has grown, South West Hire has also developed its relationships with suppliers to underpin the expansion it has been seeing as a company. “We’re now purchasing equipment in greater volumes so we’re dealing with our suppliers on a more regular basis, which has enabled us to build up a good rapport with them. At the same time they’ve been available to offer improved discounts on purchases as our buying power has increased, which has obviously strengthened our hand from a negotiating point of view.”
As it looks to build further on the successful opening of its Exeter depot South West Hire is now looking to other opportunities as it looks to reach its goal of having five or six sites. “We don’t want to overcomplicate matters and lose the independent spirit that has served us so well but we do want to achieve further expansion,” says Mr Curnow. “Both our directors, Mark Williams and Andy Webber, have a tremendous amount of experience that will help us moving forward. Generally speaking we’d like to add another depot within the next couple of years but we’re also focused on ensuring that our existing sites continue to perform and that Exeter becomes firmly established before we begin committing financially to the development of other depots. We’re also concentrating on the equipment we’re able to provide as everything has a shelf life, so it’s also very much about updating and replacing some of the older stock. We’re forever reinvesting and as we’re governed by health and safety there’s continual alterations that need to be made to equipment and we’re very proactive in adhering to these. It’s all about making sure our equipment is safe, up-to-date and as good as it can possibly be.”
This approach is obviously working well for South West Hire and has helped it build a strong customer base. “We have very loyal customers and many have been with us since the company first started. Their continued support has been crucial and the relationships we have with them means that as they’ve grown we’ve been able to grow with them. They appreciate that we provide a high quality service and always look to put them first. It always tells a story when a company is able to achieve high levels of repeat business and as a result we’ve been able to develop into the largest independent company in the south-west because the major nationals just aren’t able to offer the same level of personal service that we can. Our customers aren’t just a number to us and they receive the same level of service regardless of whether they spend £50 with us or £50,000.This has been a key factor in generating the loyalty we receive from our customers, without which we wouldn’t be where we are now.”
This ethos is obviously serving South West Hire well and is sure to provide the foundation for the company’s continued development moving forward.