21.02.2011

APS acquires Height for Hire

UK based access specialist APS (Access Platform Sales) has acquired the assets and business of Huntingdon based access rental company Height For Hire. No details of the transaction have been disclosed.

The agreement follows the retirement of Malcolm Brown of Height For Hire after 32 years in the business. APS which is also based in Huntingdon, will merge its Blantyre rental operation in Scotland with that of Height For Hire, while adding to the two fleets in order to balance the product range that each offers.

Height for Hire, which has no connections with the Irish based business of the same name, has a fleet of truck and van mounted lifts along with a few small booms and scissors, while APS Scotland runs a fleet of around 70 spider and push around lifts. The company is also planning to open a satellite rental operation in Biggin Hill Kent this year.
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A Height For Hire truck mount

Jim Daintith of APS said that the merged rental business will operate under the Height for Hire name and will focus on more specialist equipment such as spider and particular truck-mounted lifts. Although it will also include a number of ‘bread and butter machines, such as small electric boom lifts and scissors to satisfy particular clients. He expects to have a merged fleet of 150 units by the end of this year. APS going forward will focus purely on sales and service.

Brown said: “Having worked in partnership with Jim Daintith and APS for many years I know that the obvious synergies between the two businesses. I am also delighted to be leaving the business in a pair of safe hands with tremendous potential for the future.”

Brown supported Daintith when he started APS in 1987 and for many years retained a shareholding in the business. Daintith bought out his shares in APS several years ago with the agreement not to open a rental operation within a certain radius of the Height For Hire base. APS is the UK distributor for Hinowa and Omme spider lifts and also sells the Youngman range of low level scissor lifts along with Genie and Nifty products.

Vertikal Comment

This is a good move for both parties in that the merger will be relatively easy, giving APS the opportunity to expand its specialist and re-rental operations, while separating the rental business from the sales operation. At the same time Brown can retire with the knowledge that the business he founded back in 1977 will not only continue after he leaves, but will grow in stature.