The 2020 Wrap-Up: Finding the positives in a damn tough year!

Orange Hire’s 2020 Wrap-Up There’s no denying that 2020 has been a tumultuous rollercoaster ride. Our industry has had to contend with some massive changes and upheavals, and we’ve all had to learn to adapt on the fly. Here are a few of the positives that have come out of 2020, and a shout out to our customers for their support throughout a challenging year! Adapting to change COVID-19, of course, had a massive and immediate effect on the construction sector, however, our industry is built on problem-solving and we’re masters of adapting quickly. When things go wrong on-site we find creative solutions to keep things rolling – and that’s exactly what the industry did in response to the pandemic, quickly assessing the challenges, finding solutions, and adapting to the new normal. Whilst some projects experienced slower periods, particularly for our Victorian customers, the industry overall began to bounce back relatively quickly. This uplift is driven in part by federal and state government funding and the removal of red tape, which is helping to fast-track a whole host of different projects across Australia. The dry hire industry remains strong The equipment hire sector is a great bellwether for the larger construction industry, and although the hire industry as a whole saw a dip at the beginning of the pandemic, it certainly wasn’t catastrophic and hire requirements are trending strongly. This consistency in hire trends bodes well for our construction and infrastructure customers in general. Supporting projects throughout the East Coast On a more macro level, we’ve had some great successes locally, helping scores of customers up and down the east coast keep the lights on and keep their crews in work. We’ve continued to assist some of Australia’s biggest infrastructure projects to get the job done, delivering and maintaining equipment for Westconnex, the Newell Highway, Cadia Mine, Cross River Rail, Parramatta Light Rail and a range of other major projects. We’ve helped businesses adapt to COVID-19 guidelines, supplying barriers to create outdoor seating areas with adequate social distancing. And whilst the live event industry has taken a hit, we’ve found we could provide practical help with barriers and message boards for COVID testing facilities. Behind the scenes, we refreshed our website and made it easier for you to get a quote quickly. Our team has expanded, with a handful of fantastic, positive staff coming on board and new branch managers for both our Sydney and Brisbane branches. New gear to help you get the job done right We’ve expanded our fleet to ensure we’ve got the best and most well-suited machines available for our customers. We’ve offloaded a bunch of good quality used machines, making room for new equipment that helps us guarantee reliability on site. Along with a wide range of new padfoot and smooth drum rollers, we’ve expanded our attachment selection with new additions including hydraulic twin headers, multi-grab buckets and EMV’s for sheet pile driving. We’ve stocked up on the newly released Lo-Ro TL-2 water barriers to keep our road and traffic customers protected on site. And we’ve ensured our core range of excavators and mini diggers is specifically tailored to what our customers need on the job site. Cheers to our customers! To wrap up, we’d like to extend a massive thank you to all our customers for your support throughout the year. We’re here for any requirements over the holiday period with our offices only closed for public holidays – call us any time from 7 am for fast, professional and safe equipment hire."