Kennards Hire opens 10th location in New Zealand

Australian rental company Kennards Hire has expanded its New Zealand rental operation by opening a new location in Wellington, bringing its New Zealand network up to ten.

Kennards entered New Zealand a year ago with the acquisition of McEntee Hire, an Auckland-based company with nine locations. It was the first time that Kennards had ventured outside of Australia.

The addition of the Wellington site is part of Kennard’s long-term expansion plan for New Zealand.

Branch manager Ian Hosler said; “Securing a suitable site has now made this possible. The storage yard is large enough to accommodate the expanding range of new, bigger pieces of equipment such as a 3.5 t excavator, 9.7 m electric scissor lift and a 4.0 t roller.”

At the time of the acquisition Kennards said it would invest heavily in expanding the range and breadth of equipment at the stores. McEntee Hire was owned by Bill McEntee, who left the business following the sale.

Kennards move into New Zealand comes at a time of significant consolidation in the market. In May, Hirepool completed the purchase of its biggest competitor, Hirequip, giving it a market share exceeding 30%.

Hirepool is owned by New Zealand Rental Group (NZRG), a subsidiary of Australian private equity firm Next Capital, which also owns Onsite Group, Australia’s second largest equipment rental company.