The senior management team includes managing director Neil Partridge, operations director Peter Kernohan, sales directors Grant Mitchell and George Kesterton, engineering director Steve Cooke, health and safety manager Keith Hartiss and heavy cranes operations director Steve Hitchen, who replaces departing heavy cranes general manager Matt Ainscough. A new financial director will be recruited over the next six months.

Will Dalrymple speaks to new managing director Neil Partridge about the company’s future.

Partridge says that the company will continue its current plans. “Even prior to the family planning the sale [which began about a year ago, he says], we put in place plans for growth over the next three years. You have to order cranes well in advance because there is such a long lead time.

We have just over 500 cranes at the moment. With orders principally, but not exclusively, with Liebherr, by the end of 2010, it will be more like 600 cranes, with disposals. We are investing in 150 new cranes in the next three years, and disposing of 50-60. The demand for cranes is so strong that early next year we will be planning what we need in 2011.

Given our size, it is easier to order an extra 10% every year than the smaller guys. We are probably the largest seller of cranes in the UK, and we have good access to overseas markets. If we were to overbuy, it would be easier for us to sell out and manage our fleet effectively.

Because we are national, we an see the economy across the whole country. Because we are a strong company, we are in a position to make commitments. Our new crane commitment is GBP 20m-25m in the next three years. The bigger you are, the more economies of scale make it easier to plan ahead.

Over the last few years we have been increasing the capacity of the fleet. Before the average was 25t capacity. Now in my view the average crane sold is 50t-55t. Ainscough’s average is about 70t.

Ainscough has 25% market share. It will certainly grow stadily next year. There is no reason that we shouldn’t have 40%. The economy is very strong now. There is strong demand from major construction sectors, infrastructure, general crane hire. There may be a bit of a lull in the housing market, but in the long-term the housing market has to be good when you consider the long-term economic picture. Petrochemicals are also strong. The Olympics is coming as well.

CT: Do you see your size as a possible risk? Ainscough bought up previous UK giants GWS and Baldwins when they were failing.

NP: GWS was a fine company in its day. It stumbled because owership changed to Rentokil, as part of the acquisition of BET Plant Services, on the industrial cleaning side, in the mid-1990s. It was not committed to GWS, that’s why it failed, and put it up for sale at the end of 1999.

Baldwins failed because of its entry into the USA. It didn’t get it right. It was a decent business in the UK that was dragged down. We have taken advantage of the demise of these companies and brought the companies in. I think that our market leadership is a positive strength.

My intention is to take as much as we can in the next 3-5 years, and assuming we do that, whenever the downturn comes, we will be in the best possible shape to ride it down. Our size and place in the market is a strength. We should be the major player for many years to come. The name Ainscough is one of the strongest plant hire brands in the UK, so it will stay, even though it is not an Ainscough family company anymore. Ainscough Training Services and Ainscough Vanguard remain held by the family.

Not a lot of information about the financial deal is being disclosed. Bank of Scotland is not a venture-capitalist. We are not on a defined three-year massive growth plan and then exit. It is a much longer-term relationship with the management team, perhaps that will allow us to grow in an more orderly way than a venture-capital owned business. There are no forseeable plans to float the business, or pressure to look for an early exit as there would be if we were vc-owned.

I would not rule diversification in or out. We have got plenty to do on the mobile crane side. Certainly I wouldn’t see any short-term moves. We are already the leading mobile haavy lift firm in the UK. We have no interest in going international. The prospects in the mainland UK are plentiful for the forseeable future.

We have had a good team. Martin has been the entrepreneur, I have been the corporate player. My skills have been aquired on the board, and have been primarily to develop systems. We had a common philosophy about how to run the company-we need strong people and systems-and that will carry on as before. There don’t need to be major changes, just tweaks.

We will probably be more cost-conscious going forward, because we have a higher debt burden. But we are strong and resourceful, the bank is behind us, and we are not shackled in any way.”

When I joined in 1995, [as financial director of tool rental group Vibroplant] there was only a basic accounting system in the head office. In one of his first mandates to me, he told me to find a business management computere system to install. After research on a range of providers, we decided to use the same one, Result Group. Martin wanted to systematise the business, and those are my skills. It does basically everything. I can sit at my screen and see what every crane is doing, when it has undergone a service, what parts are on order, when it will be back in service. Strong systems assist groth, whether organic or through acqusition, and provide management information to make the best use of assets.

My strengths are commercial. I am a chartered accountant by profession, but many years ago I moved from a pure financial director to be more heavily involved in the commercial side. I work on the commercial arrangements with petrochemical and larger construction customers. I worked for and with Martin, and as he eased out of the business two to three years ago, I took more and more of the reins.

As well as leading the rest of the board, which is a key role of mine, I also feel it is my role as managing director to remain fully focused on making sure the relationship with major customers is right.

That is why we have two sales directors. The board needs to be close to leading customers. Sales revenue in the year to May 2008 is looking like GBP120m plus (EUR 175m).

It is a terrific time to be taking over, because of the strength of the team, the company’s market position, the future prospects of the sector. Is it better than taking over in a downturn? It is challenging at the moment to maximise the use of the asset. If we had another 100 cranes, they would be working. It is frustrating on one hand, a challenge on another, to push utilisation and bring new cranes on board as they come in, and look after the customer base.

I hope to have visibility to see the downturn coming ahead. These are great times to be operating in. The trading is very good, and we expect it to remain good. This is much more pleasant than in a down market, when you have a diifferent approach to running the business.


Strengths

Our market leadership position, which goes hand-in-hand with our national depot network. Our leading role in health and safety. Our leading role supplying large industrial customer base, such as petrochemical companies.

Weaknesses

TheSWOT analysis of Ainscough crane hire, by managing director Neil Partridge Left to right: Colin James, Director of Bank of Scotland Integrated Finance, Brendan Ainscough, Martin Ainscough, Neil Partridge, James Ainscough and Tony Meeke, partner of financial advisor PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Ainscough family members pose with the firm’s new management and Bank of Scotland executives