Event generator hire.
Discussion
Morning all.
I was giving serious thought to starting a generator hire company after my recent experience hiring one for my wedding. My usual game is btl and to be honest im idle half the week unless im stuck into a refurb project and was looking to fill my week a bit more.
I started thinking that it was a nice business to be in. Particulary for weddings and events. My generator cost me 600 quid for a days use, a 20kva trailer which was dropped off, set up and picked up again with no fuss.
My thoughts were to dip my toes with a couple of lightly used 20kva units and all the distributor cables, and to pick up something more suitable for towing than my work van. I would then set up a website and make friends with marquee conpanies, wedding coordinators, external caterers, these sort of people.
My target audience would be primarily north yorkshire as its very popular indeed for weddings and events but lets say an hour radius of where i live up there
Is anyone on here in this sort of game and can offer some insight.
Cheers in advance
Darren
I was giving serious thought to starting a generator hire company after my recent experience hiring one for my wedding. My usual game is btl and to be honest im idle half the week unless im stuck into a refurb project and was looking to fill my week a bit more.
I started thinking that it was a nice business to be in. Particulary for weddings and events. My generator cost me 600 quid for a days use, a 20kva trailer which was dropped off, set up and picked up again with no fuss.
My thoughts were to dip my toes with a couple of lightly used 20kva units and all the distributor cables, and to pick up something more suitable for towing than my work van. I would then set up a website and make friends with marquee conpanies, wedding coordinators, external caterers, these sort of people.
My target audience would be primarily north yorkshire as its very popular indeed for weddings and events but lets say an hour radius of where i live up there
Is anyone on here in this sort of game and can offer some insight.
Cheers in advance
Darren
make sure you look into CPA (contract plant association) conditions, these will form the back bone of your business. these govern who is responsible for what.
I.e for your wedding you may have inadvertently signed to say you are insuring it and responsible for ongoing hire charges if its not returned due to theft/damage
I.e for your wedding you may have inadvertently signed to say you are insuring it and responsible for ongoing hire charges if its not returned due to theft/damage
Did you ring around before you rented the geny? £600 for one day for a 20kva is ALOT of money , for example https://hsstoolshop.co.uk/20-kva-silent-road-towab...
And the trade will want to pay less
And the trade will want to pay less
Day hire with collect and return either same day or drop previous collect subsequent is inflated generally by the hire companies as a "retail" type product rather than trade.
If your thinking about hiring out your going to need to work out how you'll maintain and service the gensets going forward and what your policy will be on break downs either having a tame fitter to dispatch or spares. Trade will be somewhat forgiving on breakdown generally retail customers really won't from what I've heard from fitters.
We're trade and pay a roughly half that rental ex-vat for a weeks hire inc collect and return, sometimes road towable and sometimes delivered by a HIAB. Doesn't matter which to us once its set down we are not going to move it untill we're finished with it anyway.
If your thinking about hiring out your going to need to work out how you'll maintain and service the gensets going forward and what your policy will be on break downs either having a tame fitter to dispatch or spares. Trade will be somewhat forgiving on breakdown generally retail customers really won't from what I've heard from fitters.
We're trade and pay a roughly half that rental ex-vat for a weeks hire inc collect and return, sometimes road towable and sometimes delivered by a HIAB. Doesn't matter which to us once its set down we are not going to move it untill we're finished with it anyway.
Thanks for your responses guys, will certainly look into the points raised. Difference between trade and weddings i would say is the ancillary items such as distribution boxes and cables are included plus the delivery and setup vs just plonking it on a building site amd away you go.
As for what happens if it goes tits up, I was thinking of an operational spare, and setting an absolute limit of say 1hr 30 mins distance so i can go swap them over. This would minimise any disruption and also remote monitoring like what our generator had. The chap was able to see how much power was being pulled.
Going forward i will be doing lots of research about the types of generator used for events. is there any brands which are seen as reliable, or more so which ones to avoid? What would be considered leggy in run time hours?
As for what happens if it goes tits up, I was thinking of an operational spare, and setting an absolute limit of say 1hr 30 mins distance so i can go swap them over. This would minimise any disruption and also remote monitoring like what our generator had. The chap was able to see how much power was being pulled.
Going forward i will be doing lots of research about the types of generator used for events. is there any brands which are seen as reliable, or more so which ones to avoid? What would be considered leggy in run time hours?
Edited by dazwalsh on Friday 3rd August 00:47
OldGermanHeaps said:
I think your ideas of rental income are a bit askew, i normally pay £150-200 a week for a 20kva and bowser, similar prices in glasgow, edinburgh and st andrews, lowest was £120.
Maybe your local market is different but i cant see it being that different.
Yes but dont forget the wedding Tax, mention the M word and any quote is x5. Maybe your local market is different but i cant see it being that different.
Also, builders merchant/plant hire (assuming thats what you are referring to), is a very different kettle of fish to fully managed, installed and maintained event hire for the average bridezilla.
sidekickdmr said:
Yes but dont forget the wedding Tax, mention the M word and any quote is x5.
Also, builders merchant/plant hire (assuming thats what you are referring to), is a very different kettle of fish to fully managed, installed and maintained event hire for the average bridezilla.
Exactly, the wedding tax is quite remarkable. not sure if it would be the same kit rented out, usually silent type ones for an event, plus a bit of homework for them to co ordinate with the caterers, marquee co, band etc to meet their requirements but still there is a significant premium there just because its a wedding.Also, builders merchant/plant hire (assuming thats what you are referring to), is a very different kettle of fish to fully managed, installed and maintained event hire for the average bridezilla.
As an example my wife did her own flowers too after a quote of 3k+, came in. I told them to get stuffed, so she blagged her way into the flower wholesalers by setting up a business insurance for her made up flower company and picked up the entire lot 2 days before the wedding for £430, roping in the bridesmaids to set up the tables and bouquets the day before the wedding. if she wasn't in such a good career i would tell her to sack it off and become a florist instead.
I know a few people who do novelty party stuff for weddings, photo booths,chocolate fountains, discos, cotton candy stalls etc etc. Despite the seemingly high on paper mark up for one day, the amount of behind the scenes work and the limited number of wedding days in a year make it a poorly paid hard graft venture when averaged over a year.
joyless lobotomised parrot said:
Once it's up and running how do you see it scaling?
(ps: OldGermanHeaps is dead on with local prices in Scotland)
I can see it scaling up well, getting to the point of 12-24 jobs a year is the initial aim and then go from there. (ps: OldGermanHeaps is dead on with local prices in Scotland)
As for pricing, im assuming thats trade? I would be aiming more towards the events market inparticular weddings for which i would have bitten the hand off at the prices OldGermanHeaps was suggesting. My quotes were mostly in the 700-900 range plus fuel. Maybe thats the area or demand in full marquee wedding season i dunno. North Yorkshire seems to be a hotspot for weddings.
Insurancejon said:
make sure you look into CPA (contract plant association) conditions, these will form the back bone of your business. these govern who is responsible for what.
I.e for your wedding you may have inadvertently signed to say you are insuring it and responsible for ongoing hire charges if its not returned due to theft/damage
Good points, for my hire i was indeed responsible for theft damage and ibsuring the thing up to 15k. I will look into CPA I.e for your wedding you may have inadvertently signed to say you are insuring it and responsible for ongoing hire charges if its not returned due to theft/damage
Loads of companies in the business. Aggreko & MEMS being just two. People will look for a local supplier & they'll be looking for on the fly refuelling as well. You'll need an experienced sparky on board for the connect up. I've run data centres on them temporarily whilst the local electricity provider has the power off for a few days.This involves disconnecting & reconnecting power.
Main issue with gen sets is they walk, I do computer data centres for a living & have had customers "lose" quite a few. One customer they stole an 800kVA with a HIAB & truck & didn't disconnect it first. The customer was astonished when they found switch gear & changeover panels were on 2-3 months delivery.
Main issue with gen sets is they walk, I do computer data centres for a living & have had customers "lose" quite a few. One customer they stole an 800kVA with a HIAB & truck & didn't disconnect it first. The customer was astonished when they found switch gear & changeover panels were on 2-3 months delivery.
Used to be in this game, and it's easy money during the summer season - less easy in the winter.
Transport - You'll need a tacho and B+E to tow. When you get larger you'll be making lots of trips to some sites with generators & bowsers (Don't forget ADR too for all that diesel). Then step up and you're into 18T rigid territory, tacho + o-license, HIAB ticket etc. Def. ADR then!
Theft - they get nicked all day long. Trackers help, but are not perfect.
Fuel - some customers will fuel themselves and throw crap fuel in and gum up your filters. We did a premium service for our clients, and had Denyo Arcgen super super silent sets and serviced at half the manufacturer interval.
Distro - this is always a good one to make money on.
Lighting - ditto - people will ask for it and it's a good earner.
Done right and you can build up nicely, helps if you're a qualified sparks so you can sign the temporary installations off for bigger sites.
Transport - You'll need a tacho and B+E to tow. When you get larger you'll be making lots of trips to some sites with generators & bowsers (Don't forget ADR too for all that diesel). Then step up and you're into 18T rigid territory, tacho + o-license, HIAB ticket etc. Def. ADR then!
Theft - they get nicked all day long. Trackers help, but are not perfect.
Fuel - some customers will fuel themselves and throw crap fuel in and gum up your filters. We did a premium service for our clients, and had Denyo Arcgen super super silent sets and serviced at half the manufacturer interval.
Distro - this is always a good one to make money on.
Lighting - ditto - people will ask for it and it's a good earner.
Done right and you can build up nicely, helps if you're a qualified sparks so you can sign the temporary installations off for bigger sites.
How would you minimise the risk of theft of say a wedding hire on a twin axle trailer? Assuming clamps arent much use?. Guessing theft is more common on building sites than wedding venues?
On our hire he didnt even put a clamp on the thing. He did hand a peice of paper that i had to sign saying i was responsible for insuring the thing during the hire, god knows how he expected that to happen on the morning of my wedding.
Ive been continuing the research, and costed up a few rental spec machines. Starting out with 2x40kva generators with a 4x4/ pickup is my current plan. Going to need about 20k throwing at it id say.
A couple of quick questions
Can remote monitoring and gps be installed on any machine and what are the best controllers to use for this?
Most generstors seem to be delivered on a pallet, how do i then fix them to a trailer? Rachet straps for transport be sufficient or do they need bolting onto the frame?
As far as i can tell the generstors tend to be 1000kg or there abouts which requires a plant trailer or such, how do the braking systems work on these? A trigger from the brake lights that then applies the brakes on the trailer?
Would the likes of a mitsubishi outlander or freelander be sufficient for towing? Or does it need to be a bit more beefier such as a discovery?
How did you go about marketing this type of business? Im a dab hand at Websites and SEO but beyond that who do you target with marketing?
Thanks very much for your replies so far.
On our hire he didnt even put a clamp on the thing. He did hand a peice of paper that i had to sign saying i was responsible for insuring the thing during the hire, god knows how he expected that to happen on the morning of my wedding.
Ive been continuing the research, and costed up a few rental spec machines. Starting out with 2x40kva generators with a 4x4/ pickup is my current plan. Going to need about 20k throwing at it id say.
A couple of quick questions
Can remote monitoring and gps be installed on any machine and what are the best controllers to use for this?
Most generstors seem to be delivered on a pallet, how do i then fix them to a trailer? Rachet straps for transport be sufficient or do they need bolting onto the frame?
As far as i can tell the generstors tend to be 1000kg or there abouts which requires a plant trailer or such, how do the braking systems work on these? A trigger from the brake lights that then applies the brakes on the trailer?
Would the likes of a mitsubishi outlander or freelander be sufficient for towing? Or does it need to be a bit more beefier such as a discovery?
How did you go about marketing this type of business? Im a dab hand at Websites and SEO but beyond that who do you target with marketing?
Thanks very much for your replies so far.
Edited by dazwalsh on Wednesday 15th August 08:19
The Mad Monk said:
Why is north yorkshire so popular for weddings?
Its a very pretty part of the uk to be honest, lots of rugged countryside and historic towns. Plenty of venues for getting married and plenty of money floating around too. Edited by dazwalsh on Wednesday 15th August 08:42
dazwalsh said:
Exactly, the wedding tax is quite remarkable. not sure if it would be the same kit rented out, usually silent type ones for an event, plus a bit of homework for them to co ordinate with the caterers, marquee co, band etc to meet their requirements but still there is a significant premium there just because its a wedding.
As an example my wife did her own flowers too after a quote of 3k+, came in. I told them to get stuffed, so she blagged her way into the flower wholesalers by setting up a business insurance for her made up flower company and picked up the entire lot 2 days before the wedding for £430, roping in the bridesmaids to set up the tables and bouquets the day before the wedding. if she wasn't in such a good career i would tell her to sack it off and become a florist instead.
There won’t be a wedding tax for generator hire, though. The wedding tax exists because people buy into a dream of what their big day could be. Generator hire doesn’t form part of that – and particularly not to trade partners.As an example my wife did her own flowers too after a quote of 3k+, came in. I told them to get stuffed, so she blagged her way into the flower wholesalers by setting up a business insurance for her made up flower company and picked up the entire lot 2 days before the wedding for £430, roping in the bridesmaids to set up the tables and bouquets the day before the wedding. if she wasn't in such a good career i would tell her to sack it off and become a florist instead.
Appreciate you paid a huge amount for generator hire for your wedding but that can't be the norm.
iphonedyou said:
There won’t be a wedding tax for generator hire, though. The wedding tax exists because people buy into a dream of what their big day could be. Generator hire doesn’t form part of that – and particularly not to trade partners.
Appreciate you paid a huge amount for generator hire for your wedding but that can't be the norm.
Perhaps, and there was a lot going on in skipton that weekend like a food festival and 3 other marquee weddings so perhaps it was a supply and demand thing. But even changing the month from july to june for quote purposes gave quite high figures. Highest quote was £970 quid plus fuel. I will start researching prices from various companies at various times of the year to form a good picture about the pricing structure but im confident that during the summer months especially that its worth the effort.Appreciate you paid a huge amount for generator hire for your wedding but that can't be the norm.
everything goes mad expensive the moment wedding is mentioned, the toilet blocks cost me the guts of a a grand too and no doubt the same thing for another outdoor event would cost me half that. Its come about because soemone somewhere was prepared to pay it.
Its a bizzare sequence of events planning a wedding, first its shock that stuff can cost so much, then sickening after you realise thats the norm and you are going to have to stump up, then you almost accept it and all concept of money and value is lost. Thats how i felt anyways with north of 30k spent all in.
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