A company which hires out lifting equipment has opened shops selling safety equipment in an effort to widen its customer base.

Facelift Access Hire, based off the A23 in Hickstead, near Brighton, said it wanted to become a one-stop shop for people working at height.

The shops sell everything from fluorescent jackets to hard hats, men-at-work road signs to fire extinguishers. Each has a dedicated ladder section.

Until now Facelift - which has regional depots in Southampton, London and Liverpool - has concentrated on equipment hire and training.

The group's machines are used by a range of businesses, including architects, window cleaners, film studios, local and central government and mobile phone firms.

They have been used to clean the Millennium Dome and the Brighton Pavilion, to repaint Blackfriars Bridge and as a platform to drop fake snow on film sets.

Now Facelift is making a concerted effort to attract smaller customers such as home decorators, DIY enthusiasts and self-employed builders.

It hopes its new retail outlets in Hickstead and Southampton will introduce people to the idea of hiring lifting equipment for personal use.

Most of the machines, apart from the HGVs and highly specialised models, can be operated by anyone who completes a one-day training course.

Facelift managing director Gordon Leicester said: "A lot of people don't realise they can hire this equipment themselves and, in some cases, drive it away on the day.

"These machines are idiot proof, very safe and very cost-effective compared with scaffolding which has implications for security.

"We are quietly surprised at the success so far but it has been a direct response to our customers' requests."

Mr Leicester established Facelift in 1985 with a secondhand machine which had serviced street lights and an old fire engine from Hong Kong.

He did much of the work himself - painting and cleaning the outside of buildings, for example - but now the company only hires out the machinery.

In its first year, Facelift turned over £250,000. Now revenues are above £10 million a year and set to grow.

In the last 20 years the company has ploughed £11.5 million into new machinery. It now offers 50 different models.

Facelift has also benefited from tighter work at height legislation introduced last year which imposed stricter regulations on the use of ladders.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006