B&W Plant Hire orders 54 Takeuchi excavators after return to family ownership

B&W Plant Hire has ordered 54 new Takeuchi excavators to be delivered over 18 months, Takeuchi UK said, as the Blackburn-based hirer returns to independent family ownership.

The order mixes the 9.0-tonne TB290-2 with 5-tonne and 3-tonne machines, according to the manufacturer's UK arm. Takeuchi UK said the purchase shows B&W's commitment to keeping a new fleet.

B&W runs depots in the north and south of the UK from a head office in Blackburn and has more than 410 excavators ranging from 1 to 95 tonnes, Takeuchi UK said. Skipton Business Finance, which funded the firm's buy-back, lists the depots as Blackburn, Keighley, Northwich and Southampton.

Andrew Partington, Director, B&W Plant Hire, said: "Equipment designed and built for hire with good residual values has allowed B&W to maintain a relatively new hire fleet."

Partington said customers ask for Takeuchi machines and that the brand has stood up to hire fleet use. Sticking with one brand also means service staff become familiar with the whole fleet, the release said. B&W also supplies operated plant hire, according to the release.

The ownership change

Takeuchi UK said B&W reverted to independent status following a 2023-2025 collaboration with private equity investors and is now fully owned and managed by Will Whitwell, with Partington leading a team of 50 staff.

Skipton Business Finance gave a different account of the timing in its own release. It said a £3.5m invoice discounting facility supported B&W's demerger from a corporate group that had acquired a stake in the business in 2022. Companies House records William Richard Whitwell as a director since 15 November 2000 and the only active officer on the register.

William Whitwell, Managing Director, B&W Plant Hire & Sales, said in the Skipton release: "I'm thrilled to be leading the business once again, with renewed motivation and optimism for the future."

Adam Bradbury, Regional Sales Director at Skipton Business Finance, said B&W needed a strong and flexible funding solution to return to family ownership.

The two sources also differ on fleet size. Takeuchi UK put B&W's general plant hire fleet at over 2,000 machines, while Skipton Business Finance said the firm operated over 2,500 machines from micro excavators to 50-tonne models.

In the Takeuchi release, B&W said it was happy to be an independent hirer again and was returning to 24/7 service and investment in its fleet.

Background

The Whitwell family's involvement in plant hire dates to 1963, when Bill and Mary Whitwell founded Whitwell Plant Hire in Barrow, Lancashire, according to Skipton Business Finance. Bill Whitwell returned to the sector in 1994 and set up B&W Plant Hire. His son William joined in 1998, when the fleet had about 50 machines.

The operating company, B & W Plant Hire and Sales Limited, was incorporated on 9 October 2000 and is registered at Shorrocks Delf, Brandy House Brow, Blackburn, Companies House records show.

Jason Periam, Head of Sales, Takeuchi UK, said B&W had bought Takeuchi machines from 1 to 15 tonnes since the brand first arrived in the UK and holds one of the largest Takeuchi fleets in the country.

Takeuchi began manufacturing in 1963 and says it built the world's first 360-degree compact excavator, the TB1000, in 1971. It set up its UK subsidiary in Rochdale, Lancashire, in 1996, moved to Kingsway Business Park in 2008 and runs a distribution centre in Thatcham. The company marked 50,000 machines sold in the UK and Ireland in 2025.

The 54 excavators will arrive over the 18-month programme set out by Takeuchi UK.