THE NINETIES
48
In 1996 the Board identified that
Vibroplant was under represented
in one significant area of the
construction market, namely
RMI (repair, maintenance and
improvement). As a result it bought
Cannon Tool Hire, a long-established
company with six Kent-based
branches. Tool hire by now was a
rapidly expanding segment of the
market and Vibroplant already had
sector experience through its 1982
launch of Prospect Tool Hire.
More tool hire acquisitions
followed in 1997. These included
Instant Tool Hire with its three
branches in north west England,
and Domindo Tool Hire based in
Shropshire and the Welsh borders.
Five further acquisitions of small
tool hire businesses were made in
the next two years, building an
impressive national network of 43 locations.
As well as exploiting the tool hire market to its advantage,
Vibroplant focused on the transport infrastructure sector. Privatisation
of the country’s rail industry, set in motion by the Conservative
Government in 1993, meant there were new opportunities for
independent hirers outside the mainstream construction cycle.
Vibroplant followed its instinct and moved in this new direction.
In 1997 the company bought Torrent Trackside, specialising in
railway infrastructure, portable plant and associated trackside
services. Today, as one of the company’s six mainstream divisions,
Torrent Trackside is recognised as market leader with an excellent
reputation as a quality supplier to the UK’s demanding rail
maintenance and renewals sector.
(above)
1994 represented the
40th anniversary of the
business as well as
21 years as a public company
(right)
Torrent Trackside tunnel
lighting for rail track
maintenance
