There’s been plenty happening at Fairfax Plant Hire since our last news round-up in February.

While new machines arriving in the yard often get the most attention, a lot of what we’ve been working on over the past few months has been happening behind the scenes.

From continued development at our Hull depot and further investment in our engineering capabilities to achieving FORS Silver and another successful ISO surveillance audit, we’ve continued to invest in the areas that help us provide the reliable, responsive service our customers expect.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights.

Hull – Building on Our Newest Depot

Since opening our Hull depot in 2025, we’ve continued to invest in the site, its facilities and the team behind it.

Opening Hull was an important step for Fairfax, bringing our fleet and support closer to customers throughout Hull, East Yorkshire and the surrounding areas.

But opening the doors was only the beginning.

Over the past few months, the depot has continued to develop as the operation has grown.

Dave, our Hull Depot Manager, heads up the day-to-day operation, while Sean, our Hull Business developer, continues to build and strengthen relationships with customers throughout the region.

We now have three Fairfax drivers based directly at Hull, providing additional transport support from the depot and helping us respond to customers across the area.

Development of the physical site has continued too, including work on the second dedicated machine wash facility.

It’s all part of our longer-term plans for Hull, building the people, facilities and infrastructure around the depot as demand continues to grow.

Investing in Faster Diagnostics

Keeping a large and varied plant fleet working requires just as much investment behind the scenes as it does in new machinery.

That’s why we’ve continued investing in our workshop and engineering capabilities.

One of our latest investments has been in additional TEXA multi-brand diagnostic equipment.

We have invested in two more TEXA diagnostic systems, giving our engineering teams greater access to diagnostic information across multiple machine manufacturers.

Rather than always having to wait for manufacturer support, our engineers can diagnose many issues themselves, helping us identify faults and get to work on a solution much faster.

When a machine is on hire, time matters.

Reducing the time between a fault being reported, diagnosed and repaired can make a real difference to our customers.

It’s another investment that might not be as visible as a line of new excavators arriving in the yard, but it’s an important part of the service behind the Fairfax fleet.

Maintaining Standards as We Grow

As Fairfax continues to grow, maintaining the standards expected across the business remains a priority.

In August, we successfully completed our latest ISO surveillance audit covering our ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 accreditations.

The feedback was particularly positive.

Our depots were praised for their cleanliness and presentation, while the auditor also highlighted the knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude of our team.

Our drivers received particular praise too – recognition we’re extremely proud of.

There were also special mentions for members of our team, including Martin, Kev and Josh, highlighting the part our people play in maintaining standards across the business every day.

For us, these audits aren’t simply about ticking boxes.

As the fleet, depot network and workforce continue to grow, having the right systems, processes and standards in place helps us maintain the level of service our customers expect.

Achieving FORS Sliver

Another important achievement this year has been progressing to FORS Silver.

Moving from FORS Bronze to Silver represents another step forward for our transport operation and reflects the continued work being carried out around safety, efficiency and standards.

With 40 drivers working across our Selby, Leeds and Hull depots, our transport operation is a major part of the Fairfax service.

Having our own drivers and transport fleet gives us greater control over deliveries and collections and helps us provide the responsive service our customers rely on.

Achieving FORS Silver is something we’re extremely proud of, particularly because it reflects the work being done by the people behind our transport operation every day.

It's Not Always About the New Machines

But running a plant hire business is about much more than buying machines.

It’s about having the right depots in the right locations.

It’s about having engineers with the tools and technology to diagnose problems quickly.

It’s about having our own transport operation to get machines where they need to be.

And it’s about maintaining high standards as the business continues to grow.

From developing our Hull depot to investing in TEXA diagnostic technology and achieving FORS Silver alongside another successful ISO surveillance audit, these are the investments and achievements happening behind the fleet.

And they’re every bit as important as the machines themselves.

While there’s been plenty happening behind the scenes, this is only part of the Fairfax story so far in 2026.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more about some of the biggest developments across the business, including:

Growing beyond 2,600 machines, a major new milestone for the Fairfax fleet, including our biggest-ever single machine order to arrive at once.
Investing in the future and growing with our people, looking at the team behind Fairfax, developing skills within the business and the people helping us move forward.
Expanding our Selby operations – following the acquisition of neighbouring land and our plans.

From the machines we invest in to the people, depots and infrastructure that support them, there’s a lot more happening across Fairfax in 2026.

Keep an eye on our News page and social channels – there’s plenty more to come.