WHC Hire Services, 140 Dumpers & Counting…

Founded by James Clutterbuck and now in his 27^th year of ownership, WHC Plant & Tool Hire has been a regional success story and loyal Thwaites customer for every one of those 27 years.

So where did it all begin and how did it go from that first purchase in 1998 to the fleet of 140 dumpers today… with more to come this year?

There was a great ad in the early 1980’s about a guy called Victor Kiam, Victor was an American entrepreneur and serial business investor.

He became well known and remembered to this day when he acquired Remington Shavers…coining the immortal line “I liked the razor so much I bought the company.’

James had a similar Kiam experience. With 10 years of managing hire depots for others and whilst working for a Worcester based machinery sales company, which happened to have a tool hire business, James was not sure he was keen on the company’s commitment or direction. So, in what James thought would be a conversation about his desire to leave the business, the business was instead offered to him to buy…That he did, and the rest as they say is history.

WHC Today.

The year was 1997, James named the business Worcester Hire Centre and set up with just two others. The business is now more commonly known as WHC Hire Services. The company’s first excavator and Thwaites dumper was bought, and the journey began.

In 2002 the business relocated to bigger premises in Worcester where they remain to this day, with two further branches in Tewksbury opening in 2010 followed by the move to Clarkson Farm territory in fashionable Chipping Norton in 2016.

The fleet today is a mix of Plant, powered access and tool hire alongside a specialised excavator securing system called “Tracklock” which was engineered by James himself. Most recently the business has added a fleet of Groundhog welfare units.

The Thwaites Relationship

When you ask James why he first chose Thwaites and why he continues to choose Thwaites the answer is clear… “It’s all about a quality product, backed up by great people and great dealers.”

James continued, “If we ever have a problem, you are pretty much guaranteed that there will be someone at Thwaites that will have the answer or be able to help.”

WHC run the full range of dumpers with cabbed machines and most recently ROPS+ being added to the fleet. With orders for a further 40 machines being delivered this year, the WHC fleet of Thwaites dumpers will grow in 2025 to a record high of 160 machines.

Interestingly, the ROPS+ machines have been especially well received by both the business and its customers, with James commenting further that not all customers want a cabbed dumper. “The solution is well thought out, it makes the operator safer and offers a little more value on the hire rate versus the cabbed version.”

With more ROPS+ machines due to arrive soon James concluded by saying the best thing about the ROPS+ machines is… they are all out on hire.

Visit WHC Hire Services here: https://whchire.com/