Leeds-based plant hire company Chippindale Plant is investing more than £2 million in a fleet of JCB machines as it takes advantage of the UK’s new building boom – and as it marks 65 years in business.
Chippindale Plant was founded in 1949 by the late Wilfred Chippindale, who set up a business from his home in Leeds with £100 of his savings, selling concrete and scaffolding. Today the business is still family owned, run by Wilfred’s grandsons Nigel and Peter Chippindale. The company is now one of the UK’s largest privately owned construction equipment hire and sales companies, employing 86 people and has other depots in Catterick, Huddersfield, Keighley, Newcastle, Sheffield and York.
Having weathered the downturn, Chippindale is seeing growth in a number of industry sectors, and is now expanding its fleet to meet increasing demand from customers across the North and the Midlands.
The deal for the JCB machines includes the purchase of 50 Loadall telescopic handlers which are used for lifting and placing loads on building sites. The machines are being bought through Sheffield-based JCB dealer TC Harrison JCB and delivery will be completed later this year.
Joint Managing Director Nigel Chippindale said: “We rode out the recession with a combination of cut-backs, pay cuts and tough decisions, but we have come out stronger. Everyone took a pay cut but we managed to maintain and grow the business during the recession. We’ve had steady expansion and now operate from seven depots, from Newcastle to Sheffield. We have machines working from the Scottish Borders down to Derbyshire.
“The market is extremely busy at the moment, it’s the busiest that it’s been since before the recession. Mainly it is being led by housebuilders, but there is a general feel good factor in commercial building and civil engineering too.”
Chippindale has grown steadily over the years and today runs 140 JCB Loadall telescopic handlers in a total plant fleet of more than 2,500 machines. It has been run as a family company since 1949 with founder Wilfred Chippindale’s sons Brian and Gordon joining the business in 1953 and 1955 respectively. Gordon died in 1989 and Brian retired in 1998. Brian’s son Nigel joined the company in 1981, followed by Gordon’s son and co-managing director Peter Chippindale in 1984.
Nigel Chippindale added: “Since we’ve started expanding the telehandler fleet again we’ve focused on JCB as that’s what our customers want, specifically it’s what the man driving it wants. We can also customise the machines, with CCTV cameras and on-board weighing systems, to meet the needs of our customers.”
TC Harrison JCB also provides parts and maintenance back-up, though Chippindale has its own team of skilled engineers to provide daily service and maintenance.
“The service that we get from TCH JCB is as good as we would expect to provide for our customers. We also utilise the JCB LiveLink telematics system. It’s a real bonus for us from a security point of view and invaluable regarding breakdowns and servicing. We can geofence machinery and could even shut it down when off hire,” says Mr Chippindale.
Looking forwards he can see further growth in the coming months, as demand continues to outstrip supply and new machinery has become increasingly difficult to source. With all sectors of the construction industry showing strong recovery and expansion, demand for new self-drive plant will continue to rise.