10.11.2010
Mark Butler 1952 – 2010
Mark Butler a veteran of the UK aerial lift industry and owner of Zenith Aerial Platforms passed away last Thursday November 4th after a loosing his second battle with cancer.
We have only just received the information but understand that his funeral will be held next week.
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Mark Butler
Butler sold his first powered access company - Butler Powered Access to PTP (now Loxam UK) in the late 90’s. and left the business to focus on construction equipment sales in the Shropshire area.
He came back into the business when he formed a joint venture with Andy Ainsworth in 2006 to acquire a number of large truck mounted lifts for rental, including the UK’s first 90 metre Bronto. The company which was launched as Mammoth was renamed as Zenith in 2007.
Butler, who bought Ainsworth out of Zenith in 2009 had faced cancerwhen he was younger and beat it some 18 years ago. Sadly he was to face it again when he was diagnosed earlier this year.
The funeral will take place on Monday 15th November 2010 at 13:00
St Tysilio & St Mary’s Church,
Meifod,
Powys,
SY22 6BY
Refreshments will be served afterwards in Meifod Village Hall.
Mark Butler was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. He treated all people on a equal level & i have nothing but fond memories & admiration for a man who gave me a chance many years ago.I often think about the meetings in his office where he & Andy Ainsworth were going to take over the Access World, & for a while they did just that.He may have gone now ,However i will always remember Mark Butler, & what he stood for. He really was a one off.
Martin Davies
Andy has summed up Mark's history and character perfectly. Never afraid to take a different path to others and always positive about everything he did. It was truly an honour to have known Mark.
I had the pleasure of working with, doing business with and knowing Mark for 20 plus years. A loss to his friends and the Access Industry.
Martin Davies
AndyA
A fine fellow,a true entrepreneur, only a few people know what contribution he made to the development of the Truck mounted market in the UK.
His background is in engineering and when he formed Butler & Geroge,a steel erecting company, in the 1980's, he quickly realised the safety and productive benefits or using Powered Access.After spending a 'King's Ransom'hiring machines from the likes of Universal Aerial Platforms, Port Talbot Plant, Don Elsbury, Mercadel etc he decided to buy some machines.
Always wanting to be the best, so straight away he bought a couple of 30m machines (at the time you could count the number of 30m plus machines in the UK on two hands). He quickly followed this in 1991 with the purchase of a Simon S600 (62m), which at the time was the largest platform in the world.
It is easy to say the rest is history, but in 1994 he took delivery of the next largest machine in the world, the Bronto S72HLA( 72m) alongside a 54m Super. a 44m and a couple of 34m machines. People said he was "bonkers", "how can a rental company with only truck platforms survive"?
After then purchasing the first Wumag WT350, Ruthmann T265 and later ordering the first Wumag WT580 for the UK, all whilst recuperating from his first attack from cancer, he built the business into something that caught he eye of the majors.
He sold the business and was 'handcuffed' for a number of years. But when the hancuffs were off and the new generation of 90m plus machines became available??
He always said" the big companies do the intensive farming, I want to be a Specialist, they can only ever follow"
A Gentleman and true Entrepreneur, there will never be another.
R.I.P. Mark Butler.