Hire company invests in 11 tonne forklifts

A leading provider of plant and site equipment with bases throughout the UK, Nixon Hire is the epitome of a family-run business that has grown into a market leader.

With the range of accommodation units the company offers ever increasing Nixon Hire's accommodation depots have never been busier.

"High utilisation of equipment means we have to invest wisely in our infrastructure,” explains purchasing and supply chain manager, Nicola Hellewell. "We want our sites to run as effectively as possible, making a reliable partner with a good product, key in the selection criteria. We require equipment that is delivered on time, with on-going support and within budget, we look also for someone that will provide an excellent service. It is much like our own business where we believe hiring quality equipment is one thing, service and support another, and it's the people that really make a difference.”

Windsor's Stuart Dawson explains how they helped Nixon Hire acquire its latest equipment. Said Stuart: "We worked with Nixon Hire as they had identified a need to standardise the fleet by using an 11 tonnes capacity forklift to offer greater continuity. They were also looking to reduce the number of different manufacturers, as this allows operators to remain familiar with controls and ultimately promotes safety.”

Step forward Windsor Materials Handling. With nine branches across the country, Windsor has grown rapidly into one of the leading independent materials handling businesses in the UK, citing true local partnerships as central to their ethos. Windsor work with customers of all sizes and believe they understand local businesses, not only thanks to their expertise and experience, but because they too are one.

In their nearby branch at Washington, they have the ideal set up to support Nixon’s depot in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, just around the corner from the main headquarters. The Doosan D110 forklift is one of the largest capacity trucks in the Pro-5 range, complete with a full tilting cab for ease of maintenance, power steering and oil cooled disk brakes.

There’s also a fork positioner as standard, something that proves very useful for an operation like Nixon Hire, where different size accommodation units can feature differently spaced fork pockets.

"When handling accommodation containers of different dimensions,” says Stuart, "the operators would have to undertake some of the fork repositioning manually, now, with the new trucks fitted with side shifting fork positioner, the operator can adjust the fork spread hydraulically without the need to leave the cab. This ultimately speeds up the operation, meaning more units per hour can be loaded and unloaded.”

Five sites are already benefiting from the new equipment, with the plan being to roll out the refurbishment programme across the remaining trucks at the 14 depots nationwide.

"The operators are very impressed with the performance, ease of operation and comfort of the full cab,” observes Nicola. "Providing a safe, comfortable environment with which to work is crucial for our operators, and Windsor have given us the confidence that operators will be safe regardless of the type of terrain or load.”

With the trucks delivered on time, training complete and excellent feeback received from their operators, Nixon Hire are delighted with their investment, and are able to concentrate on expanding their business yet further.

Concludes Nicola: "These trucks will compliment the changing nature of our business, assisting us to operate in a safe and efficient manner and cope with the extra work load we throw at them. We're very pleased to be working with Windsor, with whom we've always maintained a good relationship and the Doosan forklifts have proven to be great value for money.”