Merritts invest in key equipment
JOSEPH MERRITT Group Plc has announced plans to invest £1.4 million in machinery lifting and transportation equipment as part of an ongoing strategy to expand services across the UK.
The company, which specialises in the lifting, removal, transportation, installation, and storage of heavy machinery and equipment has already invested in four new Scania S500 tractor units and will shortly take delivery of four new customised Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans and 4 new Hyster fork lift trucks. A new £100,000 Nooteboom flatbed trailer is also on order for delivery in January 2019.
In addition, Merritts has added to its fleet of Versa-Lift trucks following the £300k investment in a further 60/80 truck which has the capacity to lift and carry machinery weighing up to 35 tonnes, which is a valued asset to machinery end users and manufacturers. The Versa-Lift’s compact design also makes it an ideal solution when moving machinery in confined areas.
In total, Merritts will have invested £1.2 million in vehicles by the end of 2018. The remainder of the investment has equipped the new vehicles with bespoke toolboxes and lifting tackle, which includes specialist jacks, skates, chains and slings. This ensures each Merritts site engineer is fully equipped with the specialist tooling required to successfully carry out each project.
Commenting on the investment, director James Merritt said: “We have ambitious plans for expansion over the next five years. We are investing in the equipment and people we will need to meet the growing demand for machinery movement services in the UK, Europe and beyond. It will also enable us to continue working for manufacturers who are moving factories or need to re-locate machinery within their existing premises.”
Funding for the investment was provided by Santander. Joseph Merritt Group Plc currently has a turnover of £6m and employs a team of 45 personnel who work from a fully equipped storage and bonded warehousing facility based in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottingham. As part of its expansion plan, the company intends to increase revenue to £10m, create at least five new jobs and seek to attract more global machine moving projects on behalf of manufacturers selling new machinery to UK based companies.
The company has a blue chip client base of industry leading manufacturers and supply chain partners in sectors that use heavy machinery such as aerospace, defence, automotive, print, plastics & rubber, food production and waste recycling.
