Ardent Hire adds over 500 JCBs

UK-based Ardent Hire Solutions has ordered 525 loadall telescopic handlers from JCB in the UK, in a deal worth £26 million (€30 million).

Ardent Hire Solutions in the UK expands telescopic handler fleet with over 500 new JCB machines.

The giant order, which also includes 25 of JCB’s 3CX backhoe loaders, sees the company expand its fleet as the country’s equipment market starts to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rental firm, which is headquartered in London, provides plant hire services to the country’s housing, civil and construction sectors. 

Julian O’Neill, Ardent’s Chief Financial Officer, said, “Our telehandler fleet is already the largest anywhere in the UK and this substantial investment strengthens our position in the telescopic handler hire sector.”

Ardent ordered a range of JCB’s compact 525-60 and 540-200 loadall telescopic handler models, with reaches of between 6m and 20m. The rental company’s new machines all include JCB’s LiveLink telematics system, which helps increase productivity and reduce costs by feeding real-time information into Ardent’s ‘Site Manager’ digital platform.

Steve Fox, JCB Group Managing Director for Global Major Accounts, said, “We are delighted that Ardent Hire Solutions has placed this substantial order with JCB given the very competitive nature of the UK equipment supply market.

“The size of the order shows enormous faith in the quality of JCB’s machines and also underlines the need to invest in new machinery to support the growth in the UK construction industry, which continues to recover strongly after the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The machine investment, which follows Ardent’s 2019 order with JCB worth £75 million (€86.7 million), will be fulfilled by dealer Watling JCB.

The new telescopic handlers will be utilised across Ardent’s 11 UK depots, joining a fleet of 7,000 machines with an average of less than three years old.

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