Plant News

John F Hunt Hire Centres has strengthened its growing rental fleet with the addition of 26 Kubota mini and midi excavators, as it continues to expand capacity in response to sustained customer demand. The investment, worth approximately £1.3m, includes a mix of Kubota machines, ranging from the K008-5 micro and U17-5 and U27-4 zero tailswing mini models, through to larger KX030-4, U50-5 and KX085-5 midi excavators.

The machines have been supplied by Boss Plant Sales, marking the dealer’s first major fleet order since the opening of its Essex depot earlier this year. According to Martin Lavery, Managing Director of John F Hunt Hire Centres, the purchase forms part of a wider programme of fleet expansion to support increasing demand from customers across London and the South-East.

“By growing our fleet, we’re increasing capacity and flexibility to better support our customers’ needs and provide the service they have come to expect from us,” said Mr Lavery.

Established in 1994 and part of the wider John F Hunt Group, the hire business operates from headquarters in Grays, Essex, alongside depots in East and North-West London. The company manages a fleet of more than 5,000 assets, supplying compact equipment to contractors across a range of sectors. While still supporting the contracting businesses within the Group, the company has evolved into a significant external hire operation.

“We were initially created to support the demolition and regeneration companies within the John F Hunt Group, although now around 80% of the business is external, working with groundworkers, landscapers and civils businesses,” said Mr Lavery.

Alongside compact excavators, the company’s impressive fleet includes site dumpers, telehandlers, powered access equipment and a comprehensive range of tools and attachments. Specialist products, such as lifting gear, concrete cutting equipment and demolition robots have also become an increasingly important part of the offering. The latest investment brings the company’s Kubota fleet to over 120 machines, reflecting a partnership that stretches back more than two decades.

“We’ve had Kubota machines for more than 25 years and we’ve known Boss Plant Sales for a long time,” said Mr Lavery. “The opening of the Essex depot is ideal for us, providing local engineering support right on our doorstep.

“Reliability is vital for our customers and we’ve always found Kubota machines to be extremely dependable. The residual values also remain very strong.”

The company maintains its own in-house service team and apprenticeship programme, enabling it to handle much of its machine support internally, while helping to develop new talent within the industry. Working closely with the CITB, John F Hunt recruits potential apprentices several months before formal training begins, giving candidates early exposure to the business and helping identify those best suited to a career in plant engineering.

“We employ in-house service engineers and we operate an apprenticeship scheme,” said Mr Lavery. “The CITB helps find applicants and we will bring a number of potential trainees into the business before selecting our apprentices for the year.”

The new excavators have been supplied in standard specification, with machines up to the U27-4 fitted with manual quick-hitches, while the larger excavators feature automatic hydraulic hitches.

Commenting on the deal, Nigel Booley, Sales Director at Boss Plant Sales Essex said that the order underlined both companies’ confidence in the market. “Having worked with John F Hunt for more than 25 years, it’s fantastic to continue that long-standing relationship in my role with Boss Plant Sales in Essex,” he said.

“In what remains a highly competitive market, a £1.3m investment of this scale is a real statement of confidence, not only in the continued development of the John F Hunt fleet, but also in Boss Plant Sales and in Kubota. The order demonstrates John F Hunt’s continued commitment to investing in high-quality, reliable equipment and we’re extremely proud to be supporting them with this latest investment.”

With demand remaining strong across multiple sectors, John F Hunt Hire Centres said that further fleet investment remains firmly on the agenda.

“For John F Hunt Hire Centres, it is definitely a period of growth,” said Mr Lavery.