MARK Anderson has been appointed as the new president of the Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) at a critical time for the industry.
With Brexit looming large, skills shortages prevalent and widespread changes at the CITB, the managing director of GAP Vehicle Hire certainly has plenty of issues to get his teeth into.
Mark, who succeeds Graham Bow, is the third generation of the Anderson family to take on the top role at the association after his grandfather Gordon and father Douglas. His plans include continuing with the strategy of making the SPOA ever more inclusive and encouraging fresh talent to join up.
Speaking ahead of the 68th Annual SPOA Dinner in Glasgow last week, Mark, who was formerly operations director for GAP Plant and Tools, told Project Plant, “There aren’t too many associations that have been going for this length of time. To be looking after this is definitely not to be taken lightly. I’m the third generation of my family to be president, after my father and grandfather, which is a sense of pride for GAP itself. Maybe if my daughter comes into the plant hire business, she could be the first of the female Andersons to become president!”
When asked about the biggest challenges facing SPOA members at the moment, Mark said, “Everyone is going to initially be a bit concerned about the impact of Brexit. We’ll obviously be canvassing the members to find out if we can do anything or help with the supply chain. We also have all the comings and goings at the CITB. The card system is unclear with the sale of CPCS.
“Then there’s the new engine regulations, with Tier V coming out over the next few years. That inevitably adds costs. I think probably every president in the past has talked about the requirement to charge a fair rate for the services we provide. That’s going to become even more important with the increase in capital costs.”
In a raft of changes to the SPOA committee confirmed at its recent AGM, Highland Hammer Hire founder Callum Mackintosh has been appointed vice president, while Alan Redpath (Redpath Tool Hire), Stuart Gardner (AB2000) and Paul McCormack (Blackwood Plant Hire) have joined the committee, replacing Adam Bruce, Marshall Carmichael and Steven Forde. Darren Gilmour of WH Malcolm has taken on the role of social convenor.
Callum Mackintosh’s appointment to vice president is growing evidence of the SPOA’s determination to represent firms throughout the whole of Scotland. Callum told Project Plant he is proud to be a voice for members in the north, but also stressed that the makeup of the SPOA committee now is such that it can genuinely be considered to be representative of the whole plant industry.
“Looking around the committee table now, we represent everybody,” he explained. “Whether you’re a crane hirer or hiring small plant and tools; whether your business is national or if you’re an owner operator. We’ve got a geographical coverage amongst the committee as well; we really do now represent all corners of Scotland. It’s very important to the members of the north to have a voice via myself and I invite all members of the SPOA to get in contact if there are issues or suggestions they’d like to raise. I do now believe the committee fully represents the entire membership of the association.”
Glasgow Kelvin College student Ross Logan, from Marubeni-Komatsu, was presented with the SPOA Cup at the annual dinner. Speakers on the night were former footballer Dean Saunders and comedian Dominic Holland. Saunders regaled the audience with anecdotes from his career, including the time he held signing talks with an inebriated Brian Clough, while Dominic Holland explained what it was like being Spider-Man’s dad! His actor son Tom has played the superhero in recent blockbuster movies.
The SPOA is currently running a card scheme survey on its website. To participate, visit https://www.spoa.org.uk/training/spoa-card-scheme-survey
AN EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH MARK ANDERSON AND CALLUM MACKINTOSH WILL FEATURE IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF PROJECT PLANT, WHICH IS OUT LATE FEBRUARY
