May 8^th 2024

Sunbelt Rentals UK & Ireland

Formerly known as A-Plant, the company underwent a complete rebrand in 2020 to operate under the group’s global brand, Sunbelt Rentals. As part of the FTSE 100 Ashtead Group, Sunbelt Rentals is the largest equipment rental company in the UK, with over 200 service centres nationwide. With a team of over 4,200 employees, they support a diverse customer base across various industries including Construction, Industrial, Infrastructure, Utilities, Event and Film & TV sectors.

The brief

Following the 2020 rename to Sunbelt Rentals, the company’s rental equipment required rebranding to ensure both consistency and visibility for the new Sunbelt Rentals brand. Given the scale of the business in the UK and Ireland, this was clearly a major task!

We had previously supplied A-plant decals to JCB for its equipment, so it was correctly branded when it left the production line. So, as well as rebranding all JCB equipment to Sunbelt Rentals, Gate 7 was also appointed its main supplier of decals for new and existing equipment to its depots throughout the UK.

The rebrand roll-out was undertaken during the Coronavirus pandemic when demand for rental machinery had slowed. They utilised their online ordering system for all machine parts and required decals to be integrated into that system.

The Gate 7 solution

Our experienced design and engineering team worked closely with Sunbelt Rentals to ensure we understood their requirements, from production and stock, and understanding its ordering system, to the decals needed (including their sizes, shapes, colours, and other design specifications). The next stage was developing our internal systems in line with Sunbelt Rentals’ requirements. As a result, Sunbelt Rentals’ online ordering system now links directly to our ERP system.

The rebrand roll-out during 2020 also required us to manufacture thousands of decals, in order to meet high demand. After the design phase, we were able to use most of our production capacity to print Sunbelt Rentals’ decals, which were shipped to the company’s 200 UK depots.

The results

The experience gained through working with Sunbelt Rentals during the rebrand roll-out has been invaluable for our relationship and we now have the systems in place to accommodate demand from the company: any new requirements can be rapidly addressed and quickly added to the ERP system.

Decals can be ordered by Sunbelt Rentals online and we can manufacture small batches within short lead times, so our service fits with their need for fast deliveries. In addition, manufacturers which are supplying equipment to Sunbelt Rentals can be set up on our ERP system, which means that any OEM which requires Sunbelt Rentals decals can order them directly from Gate 7.

The partnership with Sunbelt Rentals has gone from strength to strength and we are proud to say that we have been supplying the company since 2020. The relationship has demonstrated our ability to work closely with our customers, adapt to and integrate with their processes and systems, and respond rapidly to changes in demand.

Gate 7 has vast experience of developing and delivering industrial decals to equipment hire companies. For more information on how we can support you, click here.