Horizon Platforms invests £1.5 million in Digital Transformation

UK-based powered access provider, Horizon Platforms, is investing £1.5 million over the next three years to transform it’s business online.

Horizon, who provide powered access hire across the UK and training from their West Yorkshire super depot, this month launched their first innovation, HireHub, a solution to help customers take control of their own powered access experience.

Using HireHub, customers can get quotes, place orders, extend a hire or arrange collections, and better manage multiple hire orders across multiple sites, giving them complete control of the hire process. With a customer base that generally works in reactive or time-critical situations, HireHub will better facilitate urgent requests and ensure machinery is delivered to sites quickly, at any time of day or night.

Ben Hirst, CEO comments: “Our original business plan was to establish numerous sites throughout the UK, aiming to become a multi-regional company. However, we recognised this was a potentially flawed model due to our USP of reliability and response. The bigger a company gets, especially in our industry, this becomes harder to deliver.

“We are the only powered access company to have focussed on becoming a national provider of powered access service, through a network of organisations who share our exacting standards, the most reliable and responsive powered access supply in the UK. This growth meant we took the decision to make a significant investment into digital, making improvements to our website and our service offering to better meet the needs of our customers and solve some of the common issues we see in our industry.

“Many of our customers are responsible for managing multiple machines, in numerous orders, across different sites on a national basis. HireHub is the solution to keeping track of all the information they need to do their job effectively, and reducing the stress that often comes with their role. We really believe that customers want options like this, and to have the ability to be proactive with their own hires, rather than waiting on a phone call or email.”

Founded in 2008 by Ben Hirst and Matthew Fray, with a head office in Wakefield, Horizon Platforms employs a team of 75. The firm provides machines such as cherry pickers, scissor lifts and rental solutions for hire across the UK using a network of trusted hire partners, and offers state of the art training facilities for those wishing to gain qualifications to work safely at height.

In February 2021, Horizon, became the first in the powered access industry to operate as an employee owned business. Former joint majority shareholders, CEO and founder, Ben Hirst and strategic account director, Rory Duggan, remain in the business to oversee the continued growth in the coming years.