B&B Attachments has added 100 new KAUP units to its wide range of stock as it aims to become the leading UK attachment hire company.

The Cramlington-based company says the additions allow it to service more national hire requests. The company also officially re-launched its hire department in January.

Sales director Neal Fowler says B&B had decided at the end of 2012 to further develop its hire business. "We want to provide our customers with the best support, so our first step was to improve our point of contact by offering a single source for all enquiries and quotations."

As part of the re-launch, Sally Morton, who has over seven years of experience with B&B, was promoted to the role of hire controller. "Since the re-launch, we've had an upturn in orders, confirming to us that our customers are benefitting from our new approach. The increase in fleet size will help us to service new requests, and be even more flexible with our customers."

Customers now have access to a 2,500-piece fleet and B&B has also hired additional engineering staff.

Company spokeswoman Robyn Henderson tells Forkliftaction.com News the hire department has seen a 10% increase in staff: "The increased demand from our current customers did not simply mean the availability of more equipment ... B&B has a high reputation in the UK for after-sales service and it was imperative this was delivered with short-term contracts as well as our usual long-term contracts."

Henderson adds that hire has always provided a significant part of B&B's business turnover, and demand for hire attachments continues to increase. "It was one of the areas of the business that we identified as having potential for growth, and the re-launch of the department came about from this."

According to Henderson, the UK attachment hire market is populated by several independent companies that specialise in casual contracts. "Our aim is to become the largest attachment rental provider in the UK through a professional and flexible approach to the market."

B&B claims it is already the market leader in the supply of new attachments in the UK market. It expects the development of its short-term and long-term rental business to further strengthen its position.

The new attachments, which include keg clamps, double pallet handlers, and appliance, carton and block clamps, will complement B&B's main customer base that covers the retail, brewing, logistics and manufacturing markets.

B&B Attachments is the UK dealer for KAUP attachments. Established in 1980, it also provides products from MoTec GmbH and designs bespoke attachments in-house for customers with unique requirements.