ArcGen Hilta rebrands as Morris Site Machinery

ArcGen Hilta has renamed itself Morris Site Machinery to reflect its six years of ownership by Morris Group and to provide an ‘umbrella’ identity for its many product brands, which include ArcGen welders, Hilta pumps, Denyo generators and SMC lighting towers.

The rebranding was announced at the Executive Hire Show in Coventry, UK, the annual showcase for the UK’s tool hire sector.

Chris Morris, one of the fifth generation of the Morris family who still own the Morris group and CEO of Morris Site Machinery, told IRN that there were a total of 14 brands within the group; “It has become too complicated. The timing is right for the change.”

He said the stability and strength of Morris Group - which has a large portfolio of property as well as other business interests in the UK - would bring security for the on-site machinery business as it continued in its strategy of growth in the UK and in export markets.

Mr Morris said the business had doubled its sales in the year to April 2012 and is forecast to grow again in the current financial year, although not at anything like the same rate.

The company has increased its staffing from 45 to 63 in the past 12 months and continues to make inroads in exporting its SMC lighting towers, with sales of a specially developed mining version of its TL90 tower recently sold to Australian rental company Coates Hire. A further lighting tower - a compact model for both mine and urban sites dubbed the ‘Mine & Metro’ tower – is also being developed.

Some of Morris Site Machinery’s brands can only be sold in the UK, such as the Denyo generators, and it can sell the Arcgen welder units in selected European markets. Mr Morris said the Hilta pumps and SMC light towers would lead the export effort, although other product acquisitions would be considered.