Paul Wright, Sales Director, Contract Hire, Leasing & Rental
I relish the responsibilities that go with heading up the contract hire and leasing division – the largest division in the Asset Alliance Group, and it’s satisfying also that all the divisions feed off one another, working together to meet our group goal. My remit includes overseeing the placement of all our new investments and managing our fantastic team of 10 business development managers and rental managers.
This year has been both challenging and rewarding. We saw the largest ever investment in our division (£100 million), which equates to around 1,500 assets. This is a big positive for our thriving business. It shows that we’re evolving rapidly and in the right direction.
We’re really proud to shout about the fact that we have a very loyal customer base that have been with us for many years. There’s no doubt it speaks volumes for the work carried out by our BDMs and rental guys in terms of customer engagement and delivering tailor-made financial services.
Having a young fleet is a vitally important point of difference for us over our rivals. We are continually renewing and growing our fleet with our customers as well as attracting new accounts. It is testament to our deep-seated relationship level, supportive approach and industry leading proposition that we successfully renewed the majority of our expiring contracts with our existing customer’s fleets in 2022 – and to the envy of our competitors.
It’s an exciting time to be at Asset Alliance Group. The big focus on our rental fleet is making sure our utilisations remain high, our availability is at optimum levels and our rates are competitive.
I’ve been with the company for nearly seven years and, whisper it quietly please, will celebrate at the end of next year 40 continuous years of industry experience. We have a great senior management team with a clear strategy of delivering best-in-class customer service. That’s crucial. Asset Alliance Group is a wonderful place to work. There really is an excellent culture within the business, which benefits everyone.
Of course, the post-COVID landscape has brought fresh challenges for us. The market has seen unprecedented demand and changes in the way in which manufacturers are producing and delivering their equipment amid global supply chain issues.
We have to be one step ahead – and we are thanks to positive changes in our business. We have strengthened our position following Arbuthnot Latham’s acquisition of the business. Now we are all singing from the same hymn sheet across the company and can offer a stronger proposition to customers than ever before.
For a salesman like me, the best part of the job is executing a deal and delivering the assets to customers – and seeing smiling faces at the end of it. The satisfaction of winning business with integrity and helping customers not just once but on repeat occasions is enormously gratifying.
It’s always nice to grow our relationships with customers over many years and receive good feedback. We want to maintain a strong connection with them and continue to service their needs whatever the economic fluctuations in the marketplace.
