Construction & Civil Engineering Magazine Issue 215 - May 2024 | Page 204

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Family owned and operated heavy lifting and plant movement services provider , King Lifting , has seen significant success in recent years . A family-first attitude , strategic acquisitions , and European expansion have ensured the company ’ s position as an industry forerunner . What started out as a small , family-run operation is now a multinational partner to customers across the UK , Ireland , Germany , and more . As Managing Director , Tristan King , reveals : “ The company was founded in 1981 by a gentleman called Bob King . It was first established in Bristol , which is where our head office remains to this day . It started off as a broker , with an existing client base from Bob ’ s previous company . He found lifting equipment that was available in the market and used it to support his client ’ s projects .

“ Once the company picked up speed , Bob decided to invest in his own equipment .
He started off with one crane and built from there . We now have 12 cranes at one location , and another 15 that were brought into the business through an acquisition of a company in Swindon . We opened a few additional branches , and there was some diversification in terms of moving into the plant mechanical movement sector . This meant we were no longer just working with cranes and lifting equipment . We also handle and install refrigeration units and chillers .
Optimised operations
“ Synergy is at the core of our business model . Our main offering is crane rental , and then alongside that we have a planned mechanical installation division , and a training division . Within the core business , we have a heavy cranes and engineering division , which offers larger equipment rentals . There ’ s also a transport division , which is where we have
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