It has been a busy time for Chippindale Plant as it joins AER Group and expands its site accommodation fleet, Construction Plant News reports.
The last time Construction Plant News featured Chippindale Plant, the Leeds-based plant and hire specialists had just celebrated 70 years in business and opened a new depot in York. Since then, of course, the pandemic challenged many businesses but that hasn’t meant Chippindale has rested on its laurels.
This year it has expanded its site accommodation business with the opening of a ‘Super Depot’ at its Leeds Headquarters. The company has invested over £1m into its cabin fleet this year alone, adding over 50 units, with even further investment and expansion planned in the coming months.
Chippindale made the decision in early 2020 to expand its site accommodation service across the entire North of the UK after predominantly running its cabin division with great success in the Manchester region. The company’s cabin fleet now totals approximately 550 cabins and five new employees have been taken on at the Leeds Super Depot, with further plans to expand the team as it grows.
“Our focus has always been to provide a premium offering for cabins at competitive rates, just as we do with our plant fleet,” explains Nigel Chippindale, Joint Managing Director.
“This large investment has allowed us to drastically expand our fleet and ensure we can provide the premium levels of quality that our customers expect. We’re working alongside renowned West Yorkshire cabin manufacturer Thurston Group on premium custom cabin builds for our fleet.”
Chippindale has also made a commitment to focus on sustainability and to minimise damage to the environment by improving the quality of its cabin fleet and by introducing new technologies that reduce costs for its customers while providing a better customer experience.
“Our commitment to sustainability will be at the fore as we build on the already high quality of the cabin fleet. We will introduce new technologies and cost-saving measures such as solar panels, modular designs, moveable walls, thermostatic heaters and much more, to reduce levels of maintenance and to continually drive the quality of our fleet forward. We already have HVO and Biofuel compliant generators as well as intelligent systems to monitor fuel use and provide easy customer reporting,” says Nigel.
Investment
In June 2022 Chippindale announced it had joined the AER Rents family of companies. Founded as a one-man operation by Wilfred Chippindale in 1949 today the company provides the complete hire and sales service for plant, tools, attachments and site accommodation throughout the entire North of England and beyond. Operating from its head office in Leeds it has 8 strategically placed depots in Leeds, Catterick, Huddersfield, Keighley, Newcastle, Manchester, Sheffield and York, employing 120 staff. Chippindale is an official approved dealer for Volvo, BOMAG, Mecalac, Stihl, Epiroc, Belle and Atlas Copco throughout the North of the UK.
Nigel and Peter Chippindale have grown the company to one of the largest privately owned hire and sales companies in the UK and will continue in their current leadership roles as joint-MD’s.
“We are delighted to be joining AER Rents fold. It’s a perfect fit not only for Chippindale Plant and its employees, but also for our customers. AER Rents are a forward-thinking organisation with an eye on expansion. The acquisition will allow us access to significant further investment to enhance and expand the range of equipment we offer. We’re really looking forward to working with the AER Rents team and their existing plant hire companies,” says Nigel.
