Penny Hydraulics lifts sales to record levels

Posted on 4 Aug 2015 by Jonny Williamson

Penny Hydraulics announces a record sales year with an annual turnover of £6.1 million – almost 10% growth on the previous financial year.

Founded in 1978, the Chesterfield-based, family-owned business has grown to become one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of load handling equipment for commercial vehicles; factories and workshops; retail, and licensed premises.

The firm, which operates in 22 countries worldwide, also provides specialist mechanical handling for the nuclear Industry, lighting hoists, as well as mining & tyre handling equipment.

The company designs and manufactures its own products in the UK which are serviced and supported by Penny Hydraulics own nationwide network of service engineers.

Penny Hydraulics
The company designs and manufactures its own products in the UK.

Vehicle mounted equipment sales account for 35% of Penny Hydraulics sales, including products such as the Swing Lift range of electric cranes; PH, V and FV hydraulic cranes, and the Load Lift, Side Lift and Tail Lift loading platform ranges for use on pick-ups, drop-sides and vans, as well as Penny Hydraulics own range of electric winches.

Working closely with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), the company always has a view of the next “big thing” in terms of campaigns, legislation and corporate responsibility. Its sales director, Richard Short commented: “A recent HSE campaign in the UK relates to Working from Height.

“Regulations on Working from Height have been around since 2005, but in recent years the HSE have started to actively promote these and look at organisations who could do more to comply. Part of this drive has been to prevent trips and falls from height.

“Penny Hydraulics has been actively involved with the HSE and their customer base to adapt existing cranes to make them operable at ground level but identified the need for a much greater portfolio of hydraulic cranes which could be operated via control levers or remote control from the ground.”

Penny Hydraulics PH Crane
The firm announced the launch of its new range of fully hydraulic PH Cranes in 2015.

Penny Hydraulics announced the launch of its new range of fully hydraulic PH Cranes at the Commercial Vehicle Show 2015. Introduced to meet the needs of the 1 to 18 tonne UK commercial vehicle market, the PH Crane range offers more than 470 lightweight, user-friendly and innovative models.

The range has between 0.5 and 5 tm lifting capacity with boom reaches up to 6.83 metres. The new PH Crane range incorporate full hydraulic control for even the lightest units. This type of control prevents the need to access the bed of the vehicle and coupled with the use of proportional controls, helps ensure smooth and precise load handling.

With more than 41,000 existing contacts within Penny Hydraulics CRM, as well as direct links with many of the OEMs and almost all of the UK-based vehicle builders, Penny Hydraulics has capitalised on this by offering a larger product range to customers, making the most of every sales opportunity and stopping them having to find an alternative supplier.

Managing director of Penny Hydraulics, Robin Penny attributes a degree of the company’s success to a “cradle to grave philosophy.” He said: “We offer nationwide back-up through our own network of dedicated Service Engineers.

Penny Hydraulics PH Crane
Penny Hydraulics PH110 crane.

“Many of the company’s service engineers were involved in the manufacture of its products before they became part of the customer support team, [equipping them with] a thorough knowledge and understanding of the company’s products and underlying engineering principles.”

With profit levels rising alongside turnover, Penny added: “This has been achieved by maintaining the same level of quality in our products, but looking at new production methods and running the business efficiently to keep our administrative overheads to a minimum, and reducing stock levels.”

The company has already recruited an additional 10 members of staff over the past year and is now recruiting again for further positions in its Chesterfield factory and offices.

Plans are being drawn up to expand the current facility in terms of office, production and storage space to match the expected increase in sales. With work due to commence towards the end of 2015.

Penny concluded: “Our success to date has been achieved through hard work, an understanding of the market and our competitors, but most of all through understanding our customers’ needs.

“We have a wealth of knowledge; experience; drive and the willingness to achieve, the third generation of Penny Hydraulics wants to push the business to the next level. By the end of 2016 we wish to have grown turnover to exceed £6.5m.”