Newcastle-based Nixon Hire is now positioning itself as a supplier of site services – mobile offices, toilets, lighting and power – with an emphasis on renewable energy.
Last year Nixon Hire sold the mobile machinery that it operated out of all but its home depots in Newcastle and Stockton. The 12 satellite depots across Scotland and the rest of England switched to cross-hire to meet customers’ needs.
At the time, chief executive Graham Nixon said: “This is by no means our exit from large plant. We certainly don’t want customers to think that we are winding down our service and fleet in the northeast now or in the future – this is simply not the case.”
However by July this year the remaining large plant fleet in the northeast had been sold and all depots have since relied on cross-hire to meet customers’ machinery needs.
Now the new-look Nixon Hire is officially re-born.
Brian Cornett, previously UK operations director at Cross Rental Services and, before that, co-founder of Speedy Hire’s Power Division, has been appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer.
Andrew Shaw, formerly of Procomm, has been appointed head of modular buildings and Simon Gibbs, formerly of Hybrid Power Hire and Speedy Hire) heads up the renewable power division.
Nixon Hire has already invested £4m into its new modular buildings division this year and is committed to ongoing annual investments of £5m.
The renewable power division has seen its fleet expanded with solar hybrid generators, battery storage units, intelligent distribution boards and solar smart frames. Since 2019, Nixon Hire has invested more than £15m in renewable power.
Graham Nixon said: “For the best part of six decades, our success has been driven by a relentless focus on putting customers first and consistently surpassing their expectations. A common thread throughout our journey has been a willingness to be bold and ambitious, evolving with the times. This new strategic direction is consistent with that approach, concentrating on what sets us apart, focusing on the sustainable site equipment our customers have told us they value the most, and investing in our technical expertise and capacity for innovation. The planned changes we have made have paved the way for our long-term national growth aspirations, and we are excited about the future.”
