View our History of Hird timeline to see the highlights in an eventful continuing journey with an unchanging purpose – to deliver the best service, honestly and with respect for all.
Company incorporated
Company officially begins trading
Company expands into Cranes and Platform Hire
Company wins Humberside Business Award for Quality Through Training
Philip Hird (current MD) Joins the company
Starting as a trainee mechanical fitter, later serving as Crane Operator and Specialist Machine Mover
Peter Snr retires at 65
Philip Hird is appointed Managing Director
New business is created Hird Lifting Ltd
1st company that Introduces LEEA training courses for Vacuum Robot and Counterbalance floor crane operation
The Company wins the Safety Performance Award from Humberside Occupational Health and Safety Group
The company is shortlisted for Construction News Specialist Awards as Equipment Supplier of the Year
The company invests in more than 20 new Maeda Mini Cranes and over 50 Genie Access Platforms
The company re-brands to Hird Ltd - now with over 100 employees and 51,000 trainees trained by our staff
Hird respond to a call for help from the BBC DIY SOS team, supplying mini cranes to help build a youth boxing gym and a community centre less than 800m from Grenfell Tower in West London
We provide cranes and lifting expertise free-of-charge to erect the Knife Angel in Hull. The sculpture, used to campaign against knife crime, is made from more than 100,000 blades collected by police
Hird introduces its popular pocket equipment guide so customers always have to hand all the hire information they need – it’s a format soon copied by our competitors
Hird opens its new Hull HQ building after the old one was devastated by floods.
It provides ultra-modern training facilities for Hird customers and an excellent working environment for staff
Hird boosts mobile crane hire capability with new Liebherr LTM1060 3.1.
The new mobile crane has a maximum safe working load of 60 tonnes and delivers industry-leading lifting capability in areas were space is restricted
Hird becomes the first UK rental company to take delivery of the new all-electric Manitou 200ATJ E rough terrain articulating boom lift
Continuing its drive to a more sustainable future, Hird adds the new all-electric Maeda MC285-3 Eco spider crane to its fleet, quickly followed with a new all-electric Maeda MC305
Hird launches Valla Cranes’ exciting new ‘V’ pick and carry crane range in the UK – with improved performance and sustainability for crane buyers and hirers alike
The handy Hird Pocket Guide 2.0 is published – the second and fully-updated edition of this very popular reference booklet for all our services
Hird takes delivery of a new Maeda CC985S-1 mini crawler crane, with a SWL of 4.9t, expanding still further the range of lifting options we provide our customers with
Hird take delivery of the Genie S-60FE
Hird is the first UK rental company to take delivery of the Genie S-60 FE telescopic boom – the world’s first hybrid and lightweight rough terrain stick boom in the 20m height class.
Hird donates its Liebherr LTM1060 3.1 mobile crane
to lift two helicopters into place in Queen’s Gardens, Hull, for a commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War.
Pocket Guide 3.0 is launched.
The 3rd edition of Hird’s handy guide is bigger and better than ever, featuring the new Valla Cranes V range and an expanded powered access section.
Carl Norfolk, left, retires as director responsible for lifting operations and Jason Timmins, his deputy, right, takes his place.
Hird celebrates its 40th anniversary, having started trading in January 1982 as a machinery moving contractor.
Oil&Steel OctoPlus 17 and Oil&Steel OctoPlus 21 spider lifts are added to the access platform hire fleet.
Hird expands its glass transportation hire service, with the TS 700 and TSL 700 all-terrain trollies and the TS 1000 narrow plate trolley added to the fleet.
The new range of Valla V electric pick and carry cranes are introduced – starting with the Valla V36, V80 and V110 – giving customers unrivalled compactness and lifting performance.
Hird continues its drive to offer green working at height solutions, adding the 22m Dingli JCPT2212DC battery electric all-terrain scissor lift to the powered access hire fleet.
New electric Tracked Carriers add more options for transporting materials across difficult ground and sensitive surfaces.
A triple first - Hird introduces Maeda’s first knuckle boom spider crane, the MK3053C. It was the first crane produced and Hird completed the world’s first lift with it.
Powerful and highly versatile Cladboy vacuum cladding lifters are added to the hire fleet.
