HSS unveils the changing face of hire
Business
No history of the tool-hire industry would be complete without at least one whole chapter devoted to HSS. Founded by Bert Taylor in 1957, the Hire Service Company (later shortened to HSS) was an undoubted pioneer of the UK hire industry – it was the original high-street hire shop.
Of course, where HSS led, others followed and there was an extended period of proliferation as others tapped into the fast-growing demand for tool-hire. Then over time there followed a gradual process of consolidation as a handful of leading businesses grew to dominate the market.
By the turn of this century, three names dominated the UK market for small plant & tool hire: HSS, Speedy Hire and Ashtead Plant. Ashtead (A-Plant) acquired a US company, Sunbelt Rentals, and grew so rapidly in the US that in 2020...
