28.05.2015

New name for Easi-UpLifts

The Irish international access rental group Height For Hire/Easi UpLifts is dropping the Easi UpLifts name in the British Isles, having acquired the UK trading name Height for Hire Ltd in the UK.

The company has always been known as Height for Hire in Ireland, but adopted the Easi UpLifts name in the UK, after opening its first UK depot in Belfast in 1996. This was to avoid any confusion with UK based Height for Hire Ltd which was founded and owned at the time by Malcolm Brown.

That business was acquired by APS in 2011 and became part of the IAPS group after APS merged with IPS. The UK Height for Hire business was restructured in February and the company renamed as Specialized Access, freeing the Height for Hire name up for sale.
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Height for Hire will be the name throughout the British Isles

The acquisition of the name by the Irish group, will see the consolidation of its UK operations Easi UpLIfts (Aerials) Ltd and Easi UpLifts (NI) Ltd into a newly incorporated UK company Height for Hire Ltd from the beginning of July, and will allow Height for Hire to trade as a single brand across the British Isles.
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The Easi UpLifts name will only be used in central Europe after July

However the group’s operations in Hungary and Slovakia will retain the Easi UpLifts brand which is now well established in those markets. The company is also retaining the full title and ownership of the Easi UpLifts name.

Height for Hire founder and chairman Harry Mc Ardle said: “While our customers will continue to receive the high level of service and quality they always have, trading under the one brand in both Ireland and the UK is an exciting step forward for us as a company and the personal fulfilment of a lifelong goal.”
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Harry McArdle (R) on the receipt of his IAPA Lifetime Achievement award from Steve Couling in 2013

Managing director Fergus Mc Ardle added: “Now that we have unified both markets under the one brand, we can continue to keep our promise to provide a service that gives more uptime, has greater compliance to safety standards and a more comprehensive range of specialised access equipment than anyone else. We look forward to continuing to find a way to protect people and their property in the working at height industry”.
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Fergus McArdle

Vertikal Comment

Changing a well-established name always poses a number of dilemmas, given the investment involved in building up a strong brand. Changing the brand, or even a logo of a well-run company stirs up lots of emotions, among staff, suppliers and customers alike,for all manner of reasons, including loyalty and familiarity, and the fact that people just don’t like change. On the other hand having a single brand, especially for the same company and service, does make it much easier and more coherent to promote, it can also save money and is almost always a better bet over the longer term.

Harry Mc Ardle would have adopted an alternative name reluctantly, when he entered the UK market almost 20 years ago. However with almost no choice in the matter the company came up with a completely new brand and really made the most of it, to the point where the Easi UpLifts name is probably a better known name outside of Ireland than Height for Hire.

However Height for Hire is a fantastic name for an access rental company and also works for telehandlers and cranes, both of which the company has in its fleet. With machines moving back and forth across the Irish Sea, It does make sense to adopt the common name across all of its operations. The change can also be used as a talking point to step up communications with existing and potential customers, and provide an excuse to freshen up the business, although it will take some time to fully adopt.

All in all a sensible move.