Spring 2001

Investors In People - Now It's Official!

Astley Hire have been awarded the coveted IIP Certification for the way in which the company involve the staff in all areas of the business.

IIP is a certification which recognises the way staff are trained and are allowed to become involved in things which affect them and their ability to perform better at work.

Astley Hire has been working towards the certification for some years and it has meant changing the culture of the business to one where staff are totally involved in decision making.

This starts from the day they are first inducted and continues through a process of continuous assessment of what skills they need. Training is then tailored in oder to allow them to improve.

Staff are made aware of their importance to the company by ensuring that there is a clear trace of how an individual's targets fit within the overall company targets.

This could be where a new driver requires training on the safe delivery of machines to customers. This would tie in with the company's targets on Health & Safety.

Each member of staff receives an initial induction to the company and a training programme is established for the next 12 months setting out the individual's requirements.

This is then added to the overall company training plan. A lot of training takes place on the job with coaching from more experienced members of staff.

Some training is supplied by outside companies, this is the case for the Modern Apprenticeship scheme which we have introduced for trainees in the service department.

The directors of the company have been very pleased with the results of the initiative, as it has results in may benefits for the company.

Stephen Dorricott said that, "Staff now take ownership for their own development which is in line with the company's."

"Team performance has improved due to staff being able to affect the outcome of tasks through their own decision making."

"IIP allows us to maintain a family atmosphere while still ensuring everyone knows where they fit in to the overall plan."

£50 Of M&S Vouchers To Be Won!

Click on to http://www.astleyhire.co.uk and tell us what you think about us!

It's as simple as that! Any comments (bad or good!) about any area of our business could win you £50 to spend at Marks and Spencers.

Let us know what you think about the web site, is it useful, well laid out, easy to use?

Have you had a good or bad experience when you have hired from us?

Are there any new products you would like us to be offering?

What do you think of the newsletter? Informative or a waste of your time?

The web site is attracting more and more visitors and is being constantly developed and updated. If you've never visited our site, now is the time.

History Of Astley Hire Part 2 (1968 To 1972)

In 1968 the business was split betweeen a hardware and grocery shop and the now emerging pump hire business. Mildred Dorricott would receive phone calls from contractors requiring a water pump and she would have to stop whatever she was do and organise the hire, which included making sure the pump was serviced, loading the Morris Minor pickup, and then delivering it to a motorway construction site somewhere in the North West.

Apart from all the other problems was the fact that she had to learn to drive!

Cyril Dorricott would service the pumps in the evening and at weekends to ensure they were available for hire. The rate for hiring a pump was £1 a day.

The workshop was the kitchen table and the storage was the back yard of a terraced house.

The business was built this way from 66 to 68 when in September 68 after a lot of sleepless nights wondering whether or not he should give up full time employment, Cyril left Hireplant to concentrate on building up the business.

Cyril was aged 55 (Mildred was 5 years younger), when most people are thinking of retirement, and without any previos business experience Cyril decided it was now or never!

It was very hard work having little capital to spend and no previous experience to rely on. Every penny was invested back into new pumps. He acquired the nickname 'The Pump Man' and was a recognised figure around the construction sites of Manchester.

Slowly the business grew and more different lines were added, such as grass cutters, rotovators, ladders etc. Hire as a concept was brand new at this stage and tere were only a handful of hire companies in the country.

Business was also new to Cyril and Mildred as they had not run a small business before, except for the shop, which was gone and had been replaced by pumps, gardening and DIY equipment, and one of the first hire shops in the North West was born.

All the work was carried out by Cyril and Mildred, with Cyril doing the services and deliveries with Mildred running the shop (and bringing up the kids), these were exciting times but still very hard, hire turnover was still small and some weekends would be spent cutting other peoples' grass in order to reinvest in equipment.

In 1971/2 Astley Hire's income was £5,314. Capital expenditure was £1,234.15 on new equipment. Expenses included advertising (£170), telephone (£28), bank charges (£14), and Mr Dorricott's wages (£495).

The plant and the machinery purchased in that year included such items as a cement mixer for £64, ths was a Baromix Minor (we can still buy these machines today from the same supplier), extension ladder for £50, 2" water pump for £50, these were always bought from Goodenough Pumps, who ironically were on the Moss Industrial Estate, just a few hundred yards from where we are today (they now no longer exist).

Cyril and Mildred were quick to adapt their business to accomodate new ideas and it was good they did because they soon found out what happens when a new business idea starts to work. Others are quick to follow, others will more capital and experience!

To be continued...