SIGNIFICANT fleet investment, senior staff appointments and a new depot are all part of Gordon Bow Plant Hire’s plans to ‘future-proof’ the business.
The Broxburn-based company, which has around 150 employees, aims to increase turnover to around the £10 million mark over the coming years.
The firm has spent some £5 million on 77 new machines this year to support its growth plans.
Founder Gordon Bow has confirmed his move to the role of chairman, with son Graham taking up the position of managing director on a permanent basis, a role he’s held for almost five years. Former AB2000 MD Jim Houstoun has joined the company on a part-time consultancy basis to help develop a strategy for driving the business forward. A further new appointment is Dawn Ritchie, formerly of GTG training, who will work alongside plant manager Jason Taylor in a sales role to give the business a fresh approach to developing new and existing client relationships.
Jim Houstoun told Project Plant, “Gordon has done a very good job with this business. He’s been running this company for a very long time and built it up from nothing. Turnover has peaked at £7.4 million and it’s been at that level for a few years. If you’re a plant hire company, there are only three ways you can increase your profitability: the first is to cut your costs; the second is to have more plant available for hire; and the third is to make sure that you’re maximising utilisation.
“The rates in the marketplace at the moment are depressed, however there is still a market out there and Bow are well placed in that market, which can be further developed. What we’re looking to implement is a strategy of taking the business from its current levels to somewhere around £10 million a year over a four to five-year period.
“It’s an exciting time for the company with a new yard to be developed, new plant coming in, and new management to take it forward. I think it’s fair credit to Graham that Gordon’s been prepared to take the role of chairman and let Graham and the team continue the brand success as they have been.
“Gordon’s still happy to be hands-on and is always willing to give advice whether you like it or not! I worked with Adam Bruce and it can be very difficult for these guys to take a step back and fully hand their business over to someone else.”
This year alone, Bow is investing over £5 million in new plant from the ‘quality end of the market’, including site dumpers, excavators and telehandlers from leading brands including JCB, Kubota, Volvo, Manitou, Komatsu and Thwaites. Included in the JCB order are the latest Hydradig wheeled excavators, which will come fitted with powertilt quick hitch systems.
The business has taken the strategic decision to grow its plant fleet, which currently stands at just under 300 machines. One of the most significant deals was a machine package from Molson Young Plant Sales, comprising of Kubota KX080-4 midi excavators, U48-4 and U27-4 mini excavators, and 3t, 6t and 9t Thwaites dumpers, including forward tipping dumpers boasting a number of safety features including front-facing cameras, green seatbelt beacons, and VCAS (Vehicle Collision Avoidance System) sensors that warn the operator if anyone is in front of the machine in a blind spot.
Andy Wilson, sales manager for Molson Young Plant Sales said, “I am delighted that Graham and the team at Gordon Bow are seeing the difference in reliability that premium products like Kubota bring to their business. It is not just about a quick sale for me or the rest of the Molson Young Plant Sales team, we want to be there to support our customers every step of the way.”
Graham Bow commented that his father has had an excellent long-standing business relationship with all the above suppliers. When purchasing new equipment, key factors the firm looks for are reliable backup and service.
“As a plant company, when it goes wrong it never goes wrong at the right time,” Graham said. “You’re looking for somebody who’ll answer the phone not only during office hours but also out of hours including weekends. Our customers are not interested in us telling them that the manufacturer has let us down,” he explained. “As far as they’re concerned, they’ve got a machine that isn’t working and men standing idle because the machine is broken down. And as it’s our hire, that’s our fault. The machinery has to be reliable. If it does break down – and most machines do break down from time to time – you rely on getting them up and running as quickly as you possibly can. Otherwise it’s very detrimental to your relationships with your customers. That said, we have our own in-house service department, led by Bill Gibb, that does a sterling job in supporting the fleet. I’m not sure how he does it but he does it well with service being one of our key strengths. Clients regularly comment on our service performance, which is testament to Bill.”
Much of the new equipment has been bought with the housebuilding sector in mind, with housing currently accounting for the majority of Bow’s workload.
“The business has a good customer base and some very loyal long-term customers within the housebuilding sector,” Jim Houstoun explained. “There’s not much infrastructure going on for now. That side of the industry seems to have stalled. Housebuilding is the only real game in town unless you’re in the rail sector, which this company is to a very small degree. It has a number of operators who have their PTS rail certification.
“Jason Taylor has been charged with the responsibility to develop and run the plant, get it out there and liaise with operators and customers. Bringing in more plant places a heavy burden on the hire and service teams, however the utilisation of Bow’s plant is very high and obviously we want that to continue. Utilisation is somewhere between 85% and 90%.”
Jason confirmed housebuilding is the busiest sector at the moment, although the company has recently been involved in the laying of a new water mains installation in the nearby Pentland Hills.
One of the most important developments for Bow is a new depot, which is scheduled to be up and running in spring next year. Situated just across the road from the firm’s current HQ, the extra space will provide room for future expansion.
Graham Bow said, “We’ve totally outgrown this depot; everyone’s sitting on each other’s knees. When you’ve got a blank canvas to put a new depot together, it’s exciting as it is challenging.”
On the subject of growth plans, Graham said he was excited about the addition of Dawn Ritchie to the sales team and praised Jason Taylor for opening a lot of new doors and bringing new clients to the business over the past couple of years. “The sales guys are definitely buzzing,” he said. “The operators are a lot happier. People are asking what machines are coming in and are keen to see them on their sites.”
Graham believes employees should take confidence from the fact the company is showing its commitment to investment and thinks the family nature of the business can be a major asset.
“I’ve got two young kids so I’m looking to see it through for them,” he explained. “We’ve got a young team as well that we’re now moulding. It’s exciting times; challenging times; but determined times as well.
“I like to stick to what we’re good at but sometimes you need to diversify to keep it moving. It’s nice to see new kit coming in and even nicer to see it going out. We’re working at length to future-proof. We’re at the beginning of two journeys because we also have plans to grow our other business – Gordon Bow Engineering – as well.
“I think the family aspect is important. Customers know they can open the door and speak to one of the principals of the business. The kids are often down here in and about the offices, talking to staff, creating a real family atmosphere. It was never the plan for me to come into the business but I joined in my early 20s. I’ve never looked back. When you’ve got this, why would you not want to drive it forward for the family and keep the tradition going?”
Founder Gordon Bow concluded, “We’ve done a lot of research looking at different things in order to provide our customers with a service which will keep us at the top of our game in the industry.”
