A UK equipment and crane hire firm has bolstered its services following investment totaling £11.5 million.
Hewden, has used the funds to bring in 21 new cranes, ranging from a capacity of 70 to 220 tonnes, across each of its sites.
The Construction Products Association (CPA) is forecasting an industry growth rate of 23 per cent between 2014 and 2018.
Hewden is confident the new machinery will help meet the demand for housing, infrastructure and commercial projects.
The latest investment pushes the size of cranes handled by the company to a new high.
Previously, it only dealt with cranes going up to 130 tonnes of capacity, but the new range substantially surpasses that figure, with machines provided by Japan-based crane manufacturer Tadano.
Depot manager Neal Ocego highlighted the importance of the investment.
He said: “This is a significant investment for Hewden but the construction sector is continuing to show strong prospects in the UK, especially for large scale infrastructure and commercial projects.
“We’ve been involved in the commercial crane hire sector for more than 40 years but this latest venture is a significant development from our traditional fleet.
“We are going bigger and better, with the new Tadano rig showing how innovative technology can really help to cut costs and improve health and safety.
“We’re known locally for our safety, reliability, quality and security and the new investments will reinforce that reputation going forward to next year and beyond.”
Hewden’s new chief executive Adrian Murphy stated, “We have increased the capacity of our crane fleet to 220 tonnes,” Mr Murphy said. “This includes the 220 model with a hydraulic jib for narrower spaces. We’re stopping at 220 tonnes for the moment, but I wouldn’t limit us to that size crane in the long-term.
“We have around a 6% market share in the UK and are targeting around 15%. As well as construction, we are targeting the infrastructure market; the industrial sector as well as the events sector, where we have also invested around £1 million (€1.3 million) in fencing and trackway recently.”
The CPA represents the UK’s manufacturers and distributors of construction products and materials, with the sector, which has an annual turnover of more than £50 billion, providing jobs for 313,000 people across 21,000 firms.
