Company History

The Smith family has been in business in Blackpool for over 150 years - having started out as coal merchants. Victorian Blackpool had an even more extensive tramway network than it does today. The more familiar of the landmarks from that time is the Old Tramsheds, formerly known as the Marton Depot.

The Marton Depot, was built in 1901 to accommodate 50 trams. It was used for central routes but declined in use after the closure in 1936 of the Layton and Central Drive sections. The depot closed for tram use between 1939 and 1944 due to the war, and accommodated aircraft of the Vickers Aircraft Company. On 11th March 1963 the last tram car left the depot before being closed. Shortly after - the front half of the depot was demolished and a petrol station built in its place after the site was acquired by BP. The - still intact - rear section was taken over by the long established Smith family in 1963.

In 1971, Smiths Equipment Hire became a separate registered company having originally developed out of the family's long-established coal merchant and haulage operation; Birchfield Haulage Ltd. Since then, Smiths Equipment Hire has gone from strength to strength and expanded across the Northwest of England as one of the biggest Independent Hire companies in the region.

In 1998, Smiths opened a depot in Preston and later, in 2001 opened a sixth depot in Blackburn. Directors David and Thomas stated that "we opened the two latter depots because customers wanted us to cover a larger area and serve them better when they were working further away from Blackpool. These represented our first moves in opening up the north west of England to become a regional, rather than a local, player."

However, in 2004, the Preston depot was moved from its industrial estate roots to a new 6,0002 foot facility along the main A6 road without significant investment in new equipment. The new prominent location impacted on business greatly and turnover increased dramatically.

A new 10,0002 foot depot in Bolton was opened in 2006; the furthest location from its home base at the Old Tramsheds, Blackpool. The massive size of the depot lot helps to provide plant and access equipment to the Blackburn and Preston locations.

"It was a natural progression for us and opens up the motorway network. Within 10 minutes, we are on the M60 Manchester ring road and the M62 into Liverpool. This makes these two major cities accessible for us, thus enabling us to cover a larger geographic area. The opening of this depot was a key step for us in securing our regional coverage."

Due to the high amount of equipment stored at the Old Tramsheds by 2007, it was necessary to finally separate the plant and tool hire facilities. Even though the Smith brothers had bought an old ATS tyre depot, they concentrated on getting the Bolton location up and running first. Eventually in August 2007, the Clifton Road, Blackpool depot was opened. As a result of that move, turnover grew 20% overnight.

In 2008, Smiths Equipment Hire was awarded Passionate Independent Hirer 2008 at the Executive Hire Show for outstanding service to the Hire profession.

Late 2010 saw a further expansion when Smiths opened a training services centre to accompany the Preston branch. The PASMA accredited services allow Smiths to provide dedicated equipment training to companies across the Northwest of England.

2010 also saw Smiths branching out in to Greater Manchester, where the old Tool Hire Shop became the newest Smiths Equipment Hire depot. Found along the main A635 road in Openshaw, this location is prime for passing trade and the site's 8,0002 foot space and extensive yard allow for a huge range of equipment to be available.

Thomas Smith, managing director of Smiths Equipment Hire had this to say about the Manchester depot:

"Approximately 95% of our business comes from Manchester itself ... from this locaion we are also able to service customers as far east as Huddersfield."

The Executive Hire Show shortlisted the Cleveleys branch for the 2012 Hire Network Award. The Hire Network's Hire Controller, Jon Norris had this to say:

"Smiths' Cleveleys depot give us consistently good service, which may not sound dramatic, but is essential in a fast moving business environment."
... "We have given them some fairly 'messy' hires, on sea walls and in the middle of fields, but somehow they always manage to pull it off."

In 2011, Smiths Equipment Hire became the U.K.'s first independant hire company to achieve the HAE SafeHire Standard. The goal of this standard is to prove that hire businesses are competent in the area of health, safety, environment and quality.

Smiths Equipment Hire is immensely proud of this accomplishment as it validates the key principles behind the company.

Smiths Equipment Hire is the No. 1 Independent Hire Company in the Northwest of England, servicing areas across Lancashire such as Preston, Manchester, Blackburn, Blackpool & Bolton. With further expansion towards Warrington, Smiths Equipment Hire can now service Liverpool, Merseyside and Widnes with a wide range of tools, plant, access and platform hire.

Our knowledgeable staff in our convenient locations across Lancashire and the Northwest will help find the best tool for the job. We offer a "Hire from One return to Any" policy that means if you hire from Blackpool, you can return it to Preston! Hiring tools, plant, access and platforms from us could not be easier; you can phone, email or send an enquiry from this website - you can even come into one of our depots.

We stock a vast range of access platforms for hire, including scissor lifts and booms of varying reach, so no matter the height we have the means. Whether you're digging, decorating, gardening or building an extension, we have a large fleet of excavators, wallpaper strippers, paint sprayers, lawnmowers, strimmers, chainsaws and even cement mixers that will help save you time, money and a lot of back-breaking labour.