YES expands Kubota mini fleet: hire network and utilisation notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Your Equipment Solutions (YES) has bought more than 70 Kubota mini excavators from HRN Tractors, in 1.6‑tonne, 1.8‑tonne and 3‑tonne classes, to support rapid depot expansion across Scotland. The employee‑owned Falkirk firm, which already operated in Dundee, has opened new outlets in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with a fifth site due in Inverness in May. YES founder David Johnstone cites strong operator preference, a five‑year Kubota warranty and close workshop support from HRN as key to the fleet standardisation decision.
Technical Brief
- Fleet mix spans three micro-classes: 1.6‑tonne, 1.8‑tonne and 3‑tonne Kubota minis.
- More than 70 units were delivered as a single coordinated order via HRN Tractors.
- Initial Kubota minis were introduced to YES’s fleet in 2018, establishing operational performance history.
- Customer feedback specifically cited durability, reliability and ease of use as differentiators versus alternative mini‑excavators.
- Rapid delivery of the 70‑plus machines required close coordination between Kubota (Martin Norry) and HRN (Ian Burton).
Our Take
In our Infrastructure coverage, Scotland has relatively few plant-hire expansion stories compared with England, so YES’s move to add 70 Kubota minis signals intensifying competition for small civils and utilities work around Glasgow, Edinburgh and the central belt.
Standardising on 1.6–3 t Kubota excavators gives YES a dense, easily redeployable fleet for urban and residential jobs, which typically see higher utilisation rates than heavier classes in our UK equipment-hire items.
The long-running relationship between YES and Kubota since 2018 mirrors a pattern in our database where regional hirers increasingly lock in with a single OEM for minis, improving parts logistics but potentially reducing bargaining power on future pricing.
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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