HAE EHA’s new board: what the governance shift means for UK plant hire standards
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Hire Association Europe and Event Hire Association has installed a refreshed board, adding JCB major account manager Paul Mabey, Huws Gray regional manager David Fox, Cleveland Group chief executive Andrew Thompson and GR8 Tool Hire managing director Josh Thompson alongside existing directors from Sunbelt Rentals UK, GoHire Group, Seddons Plant & Engineers and Plato Catering Hire. The revised governance model assigns each director a defined brief, including areas such as supply chain and independent hirers, and expands the use of specialist working groups and committees. Tool and plant suppliers can expect more structured engagement routes into policy, training and standards-setting within the UK and European hire market.
Technical Brief
- Board composition now mixes major OEM (JCB), national merchant (Huws Gray) and independent hire operators.
- Cleveland Group and GR8 Tool Hire representation embeds regional and SME perspectives into standards and policy work.
- Chair Phil Leahy and vice-chair Sally Wray provide continuity between previous and revised governance models.
- Supplier-side input is strengthened via Seddons Plant & Engineers’ business development director David Probert.
- Event-specific hire practices remain represented through Plato Catering Hire’s co-founder and managing director, Stuart Slaughter.
Our Take
Among the 50 Standard/Guideline-tagged pieces in our database, HAE EHA is one of the few UK-based trade bodies focused specifically on plant and tool hire, so board changes here tend to ripple into common hire terms, safety protocols and training expectations for contractors.
With both JCB and Sunbelt Rentals UK represented on the HAE EHA board, the association is positioned to align equipment manufacturers and large fleet operators on issues such as emissions standards and telematics data use, which can influence what smaller hire firms are effectively required to adopt.
Most UK Infrastructure items in our coverage centre on project delivery rather than trade associations, so this governance refresh at HAE EHA signals that the tool hire supply chain is formalising its own standards at a time when main contractors are tightening pre-qualification and compliance demands on hire suppliers.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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