CP Hire FC fp ad.indd - Plant & Civil Engineer

cover story
PRO
TEC-NI
20 PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEER
Celebrating 40 Years in Business
Protec NI is the sole agent
for Uk and Ireland for the
Protec Germany range of
petro-chemicals, these include
products to remove water and
contamination from petrol and
diesel vehicles, also available
are a full range of workshop
aerosols, to include brake cleaner,
penetrating oil and spray greases.
We at Protec NI aim to be a one
stop shop for all your workshop
needs, supplying consumables,
filters and oil at very
competitive prices.
Protec-NI,Ê
35aÊW oodgrangeÊR oad,Ê
Downpatrick,Ê
NorthernÊIr elandÊBT30Ê8JG
Tel:Ê07799Ê078Ê861
Fax:Ê028Ê4461Ê7099
Email:Ê info@protec-ni.com
www.protec-ni.com
though we are still able to
service customers in the
Republic, especially from
our branch in Banbridge.”
The first Dublin branch
opened in 1998, managed
then by Norman’s youngest
son David, who was just
18 at the time; he is now
Sales Director, covering
areas around Belfast and
Banbridge. That was followed
by the Greystones depot in
2007 as the customer base
in the Greater Dublin area
continued to grow. A year
later the recession hit hard.
Does Andrew see a return
to the south any time
soon? “No, definitely not.
We enjoyed our time there.
There were some really good
times - almost too good to
be true – but those days are
long gone. We were very
fortunate in that we saw
the recession coming and
were able to run down both
depots in an orderly manner;
we still own the sites, but
they are now rented out.”
Organic
Growth
Over the years, CP Hire has
grown organically rather than
by acquisition. It all began in
Coleraine at the beginning
of the Seventies when
Andrew’s father Norman
opened up with a handful of
mixers and compressors and
very little competition. Stock
levels were slowly increased
as cash flow improved.
“My father told me that
in those day the question
customers asked was, ‘have
you got it,’ rather than
‘how much?’ It was more
difficult back then sourcing
equipment; how things have
changed over the years!”
A year after the launch
of the business, Richard
Hunter came on board – he’s
now Area Manager – as
Norman, together with his
brother Alan expanded their
premises on the Loguestown
Industrial Estate, giving
added impetus to the
business known then as
Coleraine Plant Hire; three
decades later, the company
transferred to purpose
built headquarters on the
Bushmills Road, and has
remained there ever since,
re-branding to CP Hire in
2000, with obvious marketing
advantages given that there
are now seven branches
dotted around the Province.
One of those branches is in
Belfast, which opened on
a two acre site at Duncrue
Street. “That enabled us to
introduce larger plant into
our hire fleet, such as 13
and 20 tonne excavators,
compaction equipment
and telehandlers, and that
in turn allowed us to grow
our customer base, taking
advantage of the boom in
the construction and civil
engineering sectors across
the city,” recalls Andrew.
That same year saw the
opening of the depot at
Campsie in Londonderry,
providing coverage in the
north west of the country;
Magherafelt opened in 2006
to service customers across
Mid-Ulster, a year after the
CP Hire feature 9pgs (inc SP 1-2 ad).indd 20 03/08/2011 15:02