Winning Like a Boss

When your portfolio of products contains arguably, the biggest leading brands in the industry from the likes of Kubota, Bomag, Thwaites, Manitou and Atlas Copco, success is always going to follow, and that certainly appears to be the case for Boss Plant Sales who are based in Tring in Hertfordshire.

The Digger Man Blog popped along to see what makes this business tick, to meet the people that are key to its success, and to find out about a very significant order they were in the process of delivering.

Independently owned private company Boss Plant Sales was established in 2012 by Managing Director Graham Stansfield who had previously worked for Kubota UK directly, and later moved on to work for dealers, where he was selling Kubota products, so his knowledge of the product is without doubt second to none. As such it was obviously a logical move that when he started his own business, he was going to sell Kubota construction machinery, which they have continued to do to this day with great success, helped massively by employing some of the best names in the machinery sales business.

The companies dedicated H/Q premises in Tring comprises of two buildings with adjoining storage yards, and a separate storage yard across the road, covering somewhere in the region of 2.0 acres. The main building features a reception area/spare parts counter, storage for spare parts, and extensive workshop where machines are PDi’d (pre delivery inspected) and any additional items as specified by customers are fitted, while upstairs a busy office suite is located.

During our tour around the premises with General Manager Alex Wager we witnessed a number of U27-4’s being fitted with time and labour saving hydraulic quick couplers which, are increasingly popular even on the smaller machines these days.

The site offers gainful employment to over 30 people and they are expanding all the time.

Talking of expansion, from January 1^st 2026 Boss Plant Sales has consolidated its network further across the South-East of England by taking on responsibility for the neighbouring Essex region.

Heading up the new Boss Plant Sales territory and new ¾ acre depot facility in, Chelmsford, Essex will be newly appointed Director Nigel Booley, a well-known and popular character in the area who brings with him, 39 years of experience in the construction plant and machinery industry.

Pictured above: Left to Right: Nick Drew, Nigel Booley, Director Boss Plant Sales.

Nigel has worked for various companies over the years, covering all aspects of construction from sales, operating machinery, to service, repairs and manufacturing.

Talking about his new role in the business Nigel said, “I’m looking forward to serving customers in the Essex area and going back to my roots selling Kubota after a 12-year break. I look forward to seeing the Boss Plant business develop and have enjoyed my time so far in this fast moving well managed company".

There is no doubt about it, it’s shaping up to be an exciting time for Kubota, their dealers and customers alike, as we saw at Bauma last year, the addition of large hydraulic excavators like the 15-tonne class U145, the KW095 and KW115 wheeled variants and the addition of the compact tracked loaders, will open up a whole new offering to Kubota customers over the coming months and years, add to that the large raft of new driveline technologies, like ‘Requip’ Kubota’s award-winning electric retrofit option for mini excavators, there is plenty of buzz around the brand.  

The big news at the time of our visit was what is believed to be one of the largest single equipment deals in Kubota UK’s history, which sees Enfield based GGH Hire taking delivery of a whopping 150 compact mini excavators, which are part of a multi-million-pound investment, following its recent acquisition by St Albans-based Herts Tool Company (HTC), all arranged and delivered by Boss Plant Sales, the machines range from sub-1-tonne K008-5’s right up to the 8.5-tonne KX085-5.

100 of these machines will be part of a complete fleet replacement, ensuring their customers always receive the most modern and reliable equipment, while the remaining 50 excavators will expand the fleet offering further representing a major investment in growth, to meet ever rising customer demand.

GGH Hire was acquired by Herts Tool Company in December 2025. Both businesses will continue to operate separately, with Dave Shallow assuming full responsibility for the Enfield operation, while Gerry Gardiner remains closely involved.

GGH Hire has a broad spread of customers and remains particularly strong with utility contractors and reinforced concrete structure specialists throughout London and the Home Counties. The business works right across the South-East, with many of its machines supplied on a long-term rental basis.

We met up with Dave Shallow in Boss Plant Sales holding yard amid a sea of GGH branded new Kubota machines, talking about this significant order Dave said, “GGH are extremely pleased with the ongoing fulfilment of our order for 150 Kubota machines with Boss Plant Sales Ltd under the new HTC ownership.

It’s great to see our new machines coming through and the process running smoothly. The service provided by Boss Plant Sales has been excellent throughout, and the team has been a pleasure to work with.

Our customers have already been appreciating the arrival of the machines on site, alongside the quality and reliability that comes with the market-leading Kubota brand”.

Pictured Left to Right : Nick Drew, Dave Shallow, Manging Director GGH Hire, Nick Anwyl, Key Account Manager, Boss Plant Sales.

Nick Anwyl, Key Account Manager – Boss Plant Sales, was responsible for taking the order and arranging the delivery of this massive fleet of machines.

Commenting on the deal Nick said, “At Boss Plant Sales, we are proud to be working with GGH Hire on this significant order. Having already delivered the first 50 Kubota excavators, it’s great to see the machines already making their way into the fleet. The next batch is scheduled for delivery in the coming week, and we’re excited to continue progressing towards completing the full order.

I’d like to personally thank GGH Hire for their continued custom and trust in us. We look forward to seeing the remainder of the order delivered and supporting GGH as they continue to expand their fleet”.

The full GGH Hire fleet breakdown comprises of:

Kubota K008 - x20

Kubota – U17-5 - x50

Kubota 50x U27-4 - x50

Kubota U50-5 – x18

Kubota KX085-5 – x12

Touring around the yards there was plenty of kit to see from the other brands in the Boss Plant Sales portfolio, including Bomag compaction equipment, Thwaites site dumpers of various sizes and skip configurations, Manitou telescopic handlers and Atlas Copco compressors to name a few, it quickly became clear that this is a one stop shop dealer for anyone engaged in the building, construction, civil engineering and the groundworks industry.

Boss Plant Sales had a nice friendly ambience about it and it was clear to see that they are one of those companies that gives back to the community. Of particular interest to me was their sponsorship of Milton Keynes Lightning, a professional ice hockey team who play in the NIHL 1, the second tier of ice hockey in the UK, the modern day equivalent, of the old Heineken British League Division One, that I used to play in as a young man,  they even offer flexible employment to Lightning player Harry Gulliver, who is employed in the yard when his playing schedule allows.

I was super impressed by this business, and the team of professionals that work there, and it was clear to see that there are exiting times ahead for this forward-thinking dealership.