Nixon Hire signs Saudi Arabian joint venture

UK rental company Nixon Hire has agreed a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Al Jeri Transportation, one of the largest transporters of fuel in the country.

The joint venture will establish a rental depot in Jeddah immediately with a second in Riyadh to follow in the near future. The two companies have agreed to jointly invest more than £12 million of new rental equipment for the business.

The new operation adds to Nixon's existing rental operation in Doha, Qatar. Nixon's core business remains the UK, where it is one of the country's largest plant hire firms.

Joint managing director, Graham Nixon said he was delighted with the partnership with Al Jeri Transportation; “[We] opened our first Middle East depot in Doha, Qatar in 2009 and in the five years we've been trading we've continued to learn a lot about the market differences in comparison to the UK and successfully adapted our business model accordingly.

"We have seen our customer base develop and grow very quickly and we are confident that this is as a result of good quality equipment and excellent customer service provided by our team. As well as growth in rental activity we have also seen a steady increase in used equipment sales.

"The Middle East is presenting many additional opportunities for Nixon Hire at the moment, most notably the infrastructure development associated with the 2022 World Cup. We have high hopes that this success will continue in our new locations and look forward to opening the doors on the new depots soon."

Aljeri Transportation is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and was founded in 1988. It has other depots in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Yanbu and Qassim.

Fuel transport is one of its main businesses – it said it is the largest transporter of Aramco fuel in the region – but is also transports cement, asphalt and other materials.