Scott's Hire adds Trime X-ECO HYBRID lighting towers to fleet in first order from supplier

Scott's Hire has placed an initial order with Trime UK Limited for X-ECO HYBRID lighting towers, the hirer's first lighting towers from the supplier, and has put the units straight to work at a water treatment works and an airport site in the Midlands.

Trime UK announced the order on 5 November. Neither the release nor Trime's product page gives the number of towers ordered or the value of the deal.

According to Trime, Scott's Hire went looking for lighting towers in response to rising demand for site lighting from its customers. The hirer chose the hybrid units because they run principally on battery power, which it said helps to reduce engine running time, fuel use and noise.

Sam Tomlinson of Scott's Hire said: "We wanted to add reliable, efficient lighting towers to our fleet." He added: "The team at Trime UK has been helpful throughout the process."

The machine

Trime said the X-ECO HYBRID's lithium battery can be fully recharged in less than three hours. Over a ten-hour cycle, the company said, the tower runs solely on its batteries for 80% of the operation, with zero noise and zero carbon emissions during that period.

Trime's product page for the X-ECO HYBRID Lithium 6x100W lists a Yanmar 2TNV70 diesel engine working alongside the lithium battery. The manufacturer states 455 hours of running time before the first refill, which it says is also the interval for the first oil change and maintenance, and claims a 99% fuel cost saving for the model.

The tower carries six 100W LED heads on a seven-section galvanised mast with hydraulic lifting and a maximum height of 8.5m.

The X-ECO HYBRID LITHIUM was a finalist in the Hire Product of the Year class at the 2025 Hire Awards of Excellence, according to Trime, which was itself a finalist for Hire Supplier of the Year at the same awards.

The customer

Scott's Hire describes itself as originally one of the North West's largest independent plant hire companies, now servicing contracts nationwide, with more than 30 years' experience in the industry. The company attributes its growth to what it calls a "big enough to cope, small enough to care" ethos.

Trime's release said Martin Smithson bought Scott's Hire in 1998 from founder Don Scott, who had run the business for more than 30 years. The company has grown steadily since and now operates from six divisions.

Companies House records show Scotts Hire Limited (company number 06634498) incorporated on 1 July 2008 and registered at Unit 1 Arclid Green Industrial Estate, Sandbach, Cheshire. Its registered activity is the renting and leasing of construction and civil engineering machinery and equipment.

The supplier

Trime UK is headquartered in a purpose-built 40,000 sq ft facility at Hinchingbrooke Business Park in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. Paul Hay, Trime UK managing director, said the company had invested more than £2.5m in the site, which includes a 20-person training room for customers.

The first Scott's Hire units are now lighting the water treatment works and the Midlands airport site.