Premier Construction

HES Sales

HES
Written by Roma Publications

HES Sales Limited Relocating to Daimler Close

HES

Since being founded in 1968 HES Sales Limited has built an excellent reputation as a leading UK based supplier of hydraulic, pneumatic and electric tools in a wide variety of industries. HES is proud to be authorised distributors of leading  brands including Hi-Force, Ingersoll Rand, Norbar, Chicago Pneumatic, Equalizer and Borkey. In addition to a quality and wide variety of products HES offer they also have two fully equipped service centres carrying out professional and high quality repairs, a comprehensive hire fleet and offer a range of onsite services including HAV testing.

Recently, HES Sales relocated from its former site to a fully refurbished 10,000 square foot warehouse complete with a 4,500 square foot purpose built office block at Daimler Close, Daventry. The new facility boasts a palatial reception, fully equipped calibration room and impressive training facilities, both practical and theoretical.

Premier Construction spoke with Andrew Moorhouse, Managing Director of HES Sales Ltd, and Chris Dickinson, Operations Director of Hi-Force Ltd, to find out more about the project. Andrew said:

“The factory was an existing building which has been refurbished, but we also have a purpose-built office block and expansion to the existing size of the building. The reason we relocated was to have more additional space for all areas of the business, both workshop & office.

Chris commented:

“Hi-Force and HES have always been closely associated having always shared a premises and being apart of the same group of companies.

“Although HES is a separate and successful business in its own right, sharing a facility with sister company Hi-Force didn’t give the business the right profile or vision that we wanted it to have.

“To give HES the identity & independence it requires to continue to grow in a competitive market place, additional space was required hence the decision to relocate. This move also allowed Hi-Force additional & valuable space HES left behind in the shared premises and so this was the perfect scenario for both businesses.”

October 2015 saw the project commence officially after the existing warehouse premises was purchased in March 2015. HES appointed PJ Mitchell as architect and DJ Hutchings as the main contractor to build the site to their requirements and maximise the space available to them.

The additional space has allowed a larger workshop area meaning more work capacity can be undertaken as well as the potential of future expansion. A trade counter area, calibration room and training school have all been built while the spray booth, extraction room and machine shop have all been increased in size significantly.

Chris said:

“The building is in keeping with HES’s environmental commitments by moving from a Therm-O-Disc heating system to underfloor heating while the light is controlled by movement sensors.

“The concept was the building had to be roomy and airy with as much natural light as possible, the location is east-facing ensuring we achieved this throughout the building both upstairs & downstairs.”

To minimise the chance of any major obstacles, Andrew and Chris made sure to communicate on a regular basis in the form of site meetings with the architect and the appointed site manager.

Andrew added:

“There is a very small snagging stage to complete before final sign off, however that shouldn’t be a problem. We are currently using the space and are settling in nicely.

“The feedback from all the staff has been very positive, they like how the space is light and airy and presents a nice comfortable working environment. We have invested in new equipment and furniture for the facility so everything in the office block and canteen is all brand new. Everybody is enjoying the new space – and I believe that if you have a happy workforce in a nice environment they work better and enjoy coming to work – so it’s a great outcome all round.”

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