PRESTON HIRE’S
VISION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS GROWING IN SIZE AND COMPLEXITY, PRESTON HIRE HAS FOCUSSED ON POSITIONING ITSELF TO BETTER SUPPORT ROAD AND RAIL PROJECTS, AS THE COMPANY’S NEWLY APPOINTED GENERAL MANAGER, MIKE THOMAS EXPLAINS.
W
ith infrastructure projects deemed to play a pivotal role in Australia’s economic growth in the coming years, Preston Hire, with over 50 years of hire service experience, is boosting its support for the infrastructure sector. As the company’s new General Manager, Mike Thomas has played a pivotal role in the increasing involvement of Preston Hire within various infrastructure projects across the country. Prior to his appointment as General Manager, Thomas was Head of Rail at the business, launching the rail division less than two years ago and spearheading Preston Hire’s entry into the rail market. Since then, Thomas says not only has the company grown its presence in the rail space considerably, but it has also further solidified itself as a specialised equipment and services provider to both construction and infrastructure sectors. Preston Hire’s signature yellow equipment and their unique SuperDeck retractable loading platform systems have long been a staple on high-rise construction projects across Australia. But, in the past 18 to 24 months, Thomas says the company has also taken some key steps to position itself to better support the country’s infrastructure boom, which has been reflected in its fleet expansion and employee upskilling. “Preston Hire Australia has adapted and reacted positively to the road and rail infrastructure boom,” Thomas tells Roads & Infrastructure. The way Preston Hire has done this has two facets; growing our people and growing our fleet, Thomas explains. “There was no point for us to just add 36
ROADS NOVEMBER 2021
Preston Hire has invested in adding hydraulic crawler cranes up to 80 tonnes in capacity to its fleet.
new fleet, without building up the skills to support them. So, internally, our focus has been on our people as a resource and training and upskilling our operators,” he says. “We now have product category managers as part of the leadership team whose experience has flowed throughout the business, with all our branch operations and business support teams working towards
meeting and exceeding the infrastructure demands and expectations within our industry.” ENTERING THE EARTHMOVING SECTOR To further break down Preston Hire’s strategic growth roadmap, Thomas starts by introducing the newly launched Preston Hire earthmoving division.
