The UK’s largest equipment hire company, A-Plant is future-proofing its groundcare hire fleet with the purchase of five new Kubota tractors.
A-Plant has purchased Kubota’s mini-excavators for many years as part of its construction hire fleet, but for its latest order, which includes Kubota’s B2650, B3150 and L4240 models, the company welcomes its first fleet of Kubota tractors.
The five new additions will complement the company’s existing groundcare fleet, which A-Plant currently supplies to a range of sectors including local authorities, schools, facilities management companies, market gardens, commercial growers as well as others.
The decision to choose Kubota over other brands was based on a twofold criteria, which David Kendall, A-Plant’s Business Development Manager explains: “Before purchase we always look at two factors – strong dealer support and product that is already popular with our customers in industry.
“Kubota ticked both boxes. The service and support offered through our local Kubota dealer, Lister Wilder, coupled with the fact that they have multiple sites and a dedicated service team were central to our decision to choose Kubota product. Its range is also market-leading and well respected, so we predict demand will be high for this new range,” he adds.
“When choosing the right tractor for our fleet we look for a few key features: reliability, good power to weight ratio, availability of spare parts and an excellent product warranty. These are all common across the Kubota range.”
A-Plant is leading the market with regard to its long-term environmental aspirations, boasting one of the newest and cleanest fleets in the industry. “The majority of machines within our groundcare fleet are new, as we have to keep up to speed with the latest emissions legislations to ensure that our customers are, where possible, using cleaner, greener products,” explains Kendall.
“We believe this approach is better for our customers and also ensures that the machinery we hire is more reliable, less likely to breakdown and more cost efficient to run. As part of the new deal with Lister Wilder we chose machines in a range of cab and roll bar options, to ensure they meet the needs of a variety of end user applications.”
The expansion of A-Plant’s groundcare fleet to include Kubota product links with the wider growth in groundcare product lines within the hire market; an increase that has in part been influenced by tightening local authority budgets.
“Local authorities and groundcare contractors are definitely seeing the benefits of either straight hire or a mix of hire and purchase across their fleets. The reduction in availability of funds for capital purchase has changed the landscape and as such the benefits of hire are becoming more widely accepted and implemented as a result.”