THE EIGHTIES
32
On a business level, Vibroplant began the decade with optimism.
Profits had risen again, enabling it to continue investing in new
depots and new ventures. Its profits for the year-end of March 1980
were up from a healthy £3.2m to an even better £3.8m.
The following year Jeremy Pilkington became Chairman. He
was 30, making him the youngest chairman of a listed company.
While he may have wished for a more gradual introduction to his
new responsibilities, he certainly wasn’t one to accept a passive role.
One of his first achievements was the launch of Shorpak
Trench Systems, which proved highly successful from both a new
technological and safety point of view. This specialist service
delivered hydraulic support of trenches, thus offering an effective
solution to the worrying number of fatalities caused by unprotected
trench collapses. Thanks to Shorpak, construction workers could
stay outside the danger zones until excavation was made safe.
In 1981, the first year of his chairmanship, Jeremy established
two more winning ventures. Vibroplant’s aerial work platform
division, Hi-Work, began with an initial investment of £1m,
followed later by Prospect Tool Hire catering for both the
professional and DIY tool hire markets. However, he inherited
one venture that didn’t pan out...
(above left)
Prospect Tool Hire
started up in 1981
(above right)
Serving the professional
and DIY tool hire markets
(right)
Shorpak aluminium
waler system
THE INITIAL IMPRESSION OF THE 1980s IS ONE OF TURMOIL BOTH NATIONALLY
AND INTERNATIONALLY. AT HOME THE EFFECTS OF THE RECESSION AND
UNEMPLOYMENT, PLUS SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CHANGES, LED TO UNREST,
PROTESTS AND RIOTS. GLOBALLY, THE DECADE SAW CIVIL AND GUERRILLA WARS,
INVASIONS, TERRORIST ATTACKS AND IN SOME COUNTRIES SHOCKING FAMINE.
