It's always a delight to report on major equipment deals, and Speedy investing a cool £1 million in Shindaiwa welder generators is certainly a big 'un. Reports Andy McVittie, Editor Executive Hire News

Shaking hands on the deal - live on day one of the Executive Hire Show - was Speedy Category Manager Michael O'Neill, whose responsibilities include the not-insignificant task of rejuvenating Speedy's welding category. 

Speedy's investment buys a split of ECO 165 petrol-powered and ECO 200/300 amp diesel-driven welder generators - the latter being HVO compatible. The units will be delivered on barrows and trailers, as required.

A portion of the ECO 300s will also be fitted with spark arrestors and overspeed valves, making them suitable for petrochem applications.

There's certainly no missing Shindaiwa's EHS stand, with its brightly lit televisual backdrop. "We walked past, saw this and I thought that's a company I've just got to deal with!" explains Michael. 

And what was it about Shindaiwa welder generators that he liked?

"Well, the reliability of the machines and the product support, obviously," he continues, "But the Stage V engines and the HVO compatibilty are definitely important from a Speedy point of view."

"That's actually a recent development," adds Shindaiwa Sales Director, Tom Page, pictured left. "Only in the last month has Kubota signed off on the engines to run on HVO, so that's brand new."

Speedy's new machines will be distributed to depots nationwide, apparently to include welding supercentres. In the shorter term, some will be put to work on projects in London. Other aquisitions are possible a little further ahead, but it looks like Shindaiwa and Speedy will have plenty to be getting on with until then. 

Major deals most definitely get done at the Executive Hire Show. Come on down and bag a few of your own - see here for further details.