The Morris Leslie Group recently upgraded its fleet to become one of the youngest and most modern in the UK. Owner Morris Leslie is also a keen collector of old plant equipment. Bob Weir went to the company HQ at Errol to see his latest acquisition, a rare JCB Mk1 Major loader
With a fleet boasting 700 tele handlers, 500 excavators and 450 dumpers, the Morris Leslie Group is certainly not letting the grass grow under its feet. It continues to invest heavily in new equipment, retaining its position as one of the top plant hire companies in the UK.
The group was established in 1974, and is still in private ownership. It was originally set up as a plant sales company, but over the past four decades has diversified into other areas. The firm currently employs over 200 staff spread across 12 locations throughout the UK.
Headquarters is at Errol airfield between Perth and Dundee on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The airfield opened in January 1943 and was used as a special conversion unit by the RAF for Soviet aircrew taking delivery of British aircraft. The base included three runways as well as several buildings, which are still visible from the air.
The military role of the airfield ended in 1948 when the RAF moved out. Some of the buildings became derelict and lay disused for many years. After Morris Leslie bought part of the site, the firm began using it to auction off plant equipment. The group then opened a retail market in 1992, which has grown in size and popularity.
Staying on the airfield theme, the group also acquired Perth airport in 1997. Since then the 30 acres of buildings have undergone extensive refurbishment to create a business park. The properties include warehousing, retail and workshops and are now home to over 50 different companies.
The group has also expanded into hiring equipment for events, TV and film production. Part of this department is also based at Errol and they can offer a large selection of utility vehicles. These include golf buggies, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, telehandlers and forklifts.
The group has already been involved in some prestigious projects, including the Diamond Jubilee Concert and the film Pirates of the Caribbean.
Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Classic Plant & Machinery.
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Denne historien er fra March 2017-utgaven av Classic Plant & Machinery.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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HYMAC 580BT Restoration
Having started restoration work on his Hymac 580BT, Jeremy Rowland now looks at the next hurdles to get over as he begins to make progress
The Bigger The Better
The Ariño coal mine is not only one of largest operations in Spain today, but also relies on the services of some of the country’s largest earthmovers, writes Steven Vale
Men At Work!
The MF Hanomag dozer ripping up the earth; the Hanomag company dates back to 1835, building steam engines from which it progressed to making many other types of machinery. The construction division was sold to Massey Fergusson in 1974 and was taken over by the IBH Group in 1980: after the collapse of IBH it became part of Komatsu
Into A New Era Ian Gibson Earthmoving Into A New Era
PETER LOVE visited his good mate Ian Gibson Plant Contractor to see his excellent new premises near Upminster, Essex, and his superbly presented working equipment
GFX gets the works
Martyn Williams completes the story of his restoration of an Aveling Barford G series FX roller
Viva Las Cruces
Coal is important for Spain’s economy, but it is not the country’s only indigenous raw material.
This Was The Place To Be
If you were looking to buy some plant at auction, you couldn’t do better than check out the Euro Auction Sale, held near Selby on January 25, 26 and 27.
Inching back to life
Chris McCullough finds an extremely rare excavator restoration
Eiger Replaces Andes
Tom Pattle, owner of P&S Marine, tells the tale of moving an Eiger to his yard to replace a faithful Andes
Crawlers Star!
Although they are not seen in a plant background, enjoying classic and vintage crawlers, the backbone of the plant working scenario these days, is mostly seen at agricultural events like the National Crawler Championship. It was part of the National Ploughing Championships, which took place on Sunday October 15 near Bishops Lydeard, Somerset, and was well supported by CPM readers. The editor was there to see it happen
