The right hire partner to support business growth

Nigel Parkinson’s business is an efficient machine. From the point he started NDP Fencing and Earthworks in 2002, he had his eye on the growth opportunities in Hawke’s Bay. What started as a 1-man fencing operation is now a business that includes 5 fencing crews and a dedicated earthworks team. We spoke to him about the success of his company and how he’s used Allways Hire and their hire equipment to support his growth.

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“I’ve got some of my own gear as well but I tend to hire gear when it’s required to do a job rather than having gear sitting here in my yard that I potentially might use a week, a month…it’s not worth owning it. Allways Hire always has top quality gear on site.

Nigel has built up his own fleet of equipment and supplements it with hires from Allways Hire.

The boys are really easy to talk to. You literally pick up the phone, tell them what you want. And between Hastings and Napier they always come up with a solution for you. And we can pick up the gear and multiple bits of gear and get them to a job site and get the job done. We’ve got our own transporter which makes it nice and easy, so, we can literally just ring the boys, come and get what we want, and get stuck into the job.”

Hiring equipment is a practical way to avoid dealing with the cost of machinery that’s not going to be used every day. Having his own transporter means that Nigel’s teams can quickly adapt to the needs of the job and get the right equipment to where it’s needed. But when it’s not needed – in between tasks – Nigel also appreciates Allways Hire’s flexibility and that – where possible – he does not have to pay for short amounts of downtime.

“We can tell them when we are and aren’t using machines and we can still leave them on site so when they’ve got downtime we’re not getting charged for the downtime which is fantastic. It saves you having to cart machines backwards and forwards to the branch two or three times a week – if it’s got to sit for a day they’re generally happy for us to do that and start charging when we use the machines again.”

Avoiding the cost of downtime is definitely one of the secrets to Nigel’s business success. It’s also another reason why he likes to hire his equipment from Allways Hire – because he can rely on it not to fail. And on the rare occasion that something does fail (and it’s been very rare over the past 10 years) he knows that the Allways Hire team will be there, quickly, to help him avoid the cost of wasted time.

“We had 4 machines in Pakowhai Road…we had a hose go on us…I gave them a ring and [they said] “don’t worry about it, we’ll come out” and they turned up with a new hose already set up, screwed it all into place, and attached it. And within 20 minutes we were up and running so basically no downtime. As I say – good service where required.”

Nigel’s business specialises in earthworks and fencing in Hawke’s Bay.

The way that Allways Hire are flexible to Nigel’s needs helps him to make his business more efficient. He values the fact that the Allways Hire team recognise the importance of his time. Keeping his team productive is an important factor in making a job cost-effective. Hiring newer machines reduces the risk of something going wrong – which can get expensive when you’ve got a team of 5 working on the job.

“Reliability and durability is huge to me. I’ve got teams on the ground and I can’t afford to have 3-5 guys standing around. If the machines aren’t working I’m not making money. It’s costing me money to have guys standing around waiting for gear to be repaired. [With] Allways Hire…you’re never really operating a machine that’s more than 2 or 3 years old…You can’t beat it really. “

As Nigel prefers the reliability of newer equipment, he also appreciates that Allways Hire have plenty of it. That means the machines he wants are always available for him to hire.

“The volume of gear across Napier and Hastings and Napier makes it quite simple to get what you want. In the 10 + years that I’ve been grabbing gear off Allways Hire there might be only 2 occasions that I can think of off the top of my head that I had to wait for a day or two for the gear to become available…Outstanding.

I’ve always used Allways Hire and have done for 10+ years. Allways Hire has got a bigger range of equipment – especially earthworks equipment – available…And they’re very price competitive in the marketplace as well. Allways Hire’s always been a great team – be it Hastings or Napier – to deal with. And you can’t beat the jet planes at the end of the day!”

NDP Fencing and Earthworks has grown considerably since the early days when Nigel started the business with a hand auger and some fencing tools. With its own fleet of machines and a strong workforce, Nigel is continuing to drive the business forward. It’s great to see that the team at Allways Hire are helping him grow his business with hire ready right equipment, great service and the jet planes that Allways Hire customers know and love! If you’re interested in hiring from Allways Hire – contact the team today.