Platform provider raises its game with £2m investment in working at height equipment

Bedfordshire-based Star Platforms has invested £2m into its branches, doubling its equipment fleet compared to two years ago.

Founded in 2014, Star Platforms helps businesses work safely at height by providing them with a range of powered access equipment, including scissor lifts, cherry pickers and low-level platforms.

Following the success of its branches in Luton, Leicestershire, Berkshire and Kent, the firm has recently opened a fifth depot in Thetford, enabling it to serve all parts of Anglia.

Increased demand has also led to the company investing £2m in 400 new pieces of equipment, which will be shared across all five sites. This brings the total number of hire equipment in the business to 1,500 – double the amount the company had two years ago.

Managing director Richard Miller said: “We have a large demand from existing customers to supply equipment in the Anglia region, and, with no Access Alliance member covering the area, we were compromising the service we offer with no managed supply chain.

“We therefore took the decision to open a depot in Thetford which has excellent road links to all parts of Anglia including Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Essex and beyond.”

The site has resulted in the creation of five jobs, with Stephen Carman at the helm as general manager. Stephen has more than 20 years’ experience in the rental sector and previously worked in positions for Hewden and Nationwide Platforms.

He added: “I worked with the senior management team of Star Platforms during my time with Nationwide Platforms and watched with interest as this quality business was being built.

“When Richard approached me about working with Star Platforms at the brand new Thetford depot it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. We are now open for business and I look forward to supplying our customers with quality equipment and a first-rate service across the Anglian region.”

The company, which has 64 employees across the five sites, also offers a range of IPAF accredited training courses covering areas including the selection, management and operation and mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs).

Miller added: “With a dedicated training room at each of our depots, we’ve been able to help more than 700 people pass their IPAF courses over the last year alone. Our Thetford training room is now open for business and we look forward to teaching more people how to select, manage and operate powered access platforms safely.

“We will also be looking for more engineers and drivers to work at the Thetford depot over the next year, and plan to invest in even more platforms, delivery vehicles and service vehicles dependant on demand.”