By Dave Robson
They’re united in bringing an industryleading pump hire business to the North-East.
But when it comes to their football allegiances, Pioneer Pump Solutions duo Kev Reynolds and Gary Marshall couldn’t be more different – with their respective teams playing within a few hundred yards of each other.
Since it was founded in 2013, Pioneer Pump Solutions has become established as one of the country’s leading pump hire businesses.
From flood and sewage water, oil and gas or agriculture environments to quarrying, industrial or construction settings, it has a vast range of pumps for any job – all made to the highest standard by parent company Pioneer Pump.
Tasked with setting the hire business up in the North-East – on Aycliffe Business Park to be precise – are regional engineer Kev and regional sales manager Gary.
And while they agree about the business, football’s another matter as Gary supports Nottingham Forest – and Kev’s a Notts County fan!
But, says Gary, when it comes to setting up the new Aycliffe depot, they’ve proved a perfect team.
He said: “We get on really well and pride ourselves on customer service. We care that the customers are getting the right equipment and level of service – that’s so important to us.”
Pioneer Pump began in 2013 when Kev and four colleagues identified improvements that could be made in the industry.
“The basic idea was to find a hire solution for everybody that wanted a pump,” recalls Kev.
The business quickly established itself, with depots in Ipswich – the home of Pioneer Pump – East Midlands, Cardiff, Wigan and Bridgewater.
A 50m x 20m unit at Aycliffe has proved the perfect location for its North-East depot.
Gary explained: “Aycliffe is the perfect location for the network to provide our customers with a high level of service, and unit 3 at Ridgeway provides us with that ideal base.
“After we got the keys at the start of November, Kev and I set about painting the place, ripping carpets out, painting workshops, floors – generally freshening the place up. And while we still have bits to do, it’s looking good.”
Gary has been in the hire industry for 22 years, moving into pump hire five years ago.
Kev, who moved north from the Midlands in October to help set up the Aycliffe depot, has 30 years of hire experience behind him, and with plans for another engineer to join them.
They have several pumps in the area already, with 11 being used on a pipeline project in County Durham.
Gary said: “We deal with a lot of quarries, petrochemical and civils companies, and construction companies.
“Basically, a call comes in with a requirement and if the company knows what they want, that’s great. But if they don’t, we’ll go to site and carry out a survey for them, to ‘spec up’ what’s required.
“We manufacture all our pumps, so we know all about the equipment we’re providing.”
So, convenience, knowledge, experience and customer service are all on offer at Pioneer Pump Solution’s Aycliffe depot – but don’t expect football harmony. Glancing at Kev, Gary – whose
Nottingham Forest devotion stems from his dad – smiled: “I couldn’t have had anyone better to do this with – it’s just a shame about who he supports.
“He’s only jealous because we’re in the Premier League.”
To view Pioneer’s range of equipment, visit pioneer-hire.co.uk or call 0800 0281145, or email [email protected].