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Norris Plant becomes regional Cat dealer for Finning

Norris Plant Hire and Sales has become the latest company to sign up to become an Authorised Sales and Service Centre (ASSC) for Finning, selling compact Cat equipment to contractors in the Nottinghamshire region. Norris, which was set up in 1985, is a long-standing customer of Finning, exclusive Cat dealer in the UK and Ireland, with an established plant hire and sales business in Nottingham, providing self-drive and contract machine hire to the utilities and general construction sectors, as well as used equipment sales. 

The firm has been buying Cat machines – which now make up more than half of its hire fleet – from Finning since 2009. As the business has expanded, so too has the company’s ambitions to branch out further into new machine sales. This has led Norris to make a significant investment in new premises, adding a state-of-the-art purpose-built premises to display, demonstrate and service a full range of Cat compact equipment. The new building, which has this week received planning permission, will also house a dedicated machine demonstration area, so prospective customers can put the Cat mini-excavators and other compact equipment through their paces before signing on the dotted line.  

“The decision to become a regional dealer of Cat compact machines felt like a natural progression for the business and builds on the successful model we’ve developed since working with Finning, to purchase Cat mini-excavators and compact equipment ready to hire out to our contract and self-hire customers,” explained Andy Norris, managing director of Norris Plant Hire and Sales.

“Having bought so many Cat machines over the last few years, I have first-hand knowledge of what the customer is looking for from a machine – reliability, high performance and financial security being key. One of the main reasons we’ve continued to grow our Cat fleet is because they hold their residual value better than any other manufacturer’s machine here in the UK,” Andy continued. “That’s a key selling point to our customers, who include small contractor businesses and owner operators with just one or two machines. In many cases, the machine is their livelihood, and they need to be confident and assured that their investment makes sound economic sense.”

“We’re delighted to welcome Norris to the Cat compact dealer network,” said, Stewart Carter, Head of building and construction products at Finning “The continued expansion of the regional network is indicative of the increase in demand for smaller Caterpillar machines across the construction, landscaping, and agricultural industries for machines. "The addition of Norris Plant is a significant one for the regional dealer network, as it adds another key area of coverage in which customers looking to purchase one or more compact Cat machines can benefit,” Stewart added. “In many instances the model is like when customers purchase a new car. More customers are researching online, looking for a local dealer, and want to book in a demo before making the purchase.”

Works on the new dealer premises starts very soon. The company has also expanded its vehicle fleet and invested in people to support its expansion plans, recently appointing an additional engineer and sales manager. Norris joins alongside other regional dealers including Cooks Midlands, Bennie Plant and South Wales Fork Trucks that have all been appointed in recent weeks. 

Stewart continued, “There’s a lot of collaboration between the regional dealers, who each have extensive experience in their respective areas, both geographically and the type of industries they work in. All of our new partners work in collaboration with both Finning and each other, to support and deliver an industry leading level of customer service.”

Pictured from left to right is Jake Hutchinson, Sales Manager at Norris Plant Hire; Andy Norris, Managing Director at Norris Plant; Stewart Carter, Head of BCP at Finning UK&I; Kendall Granville Roberts, Territory Manager at Caterpillar Financial Services; Caroline Potter, Marketing & Sales Operation Representative at Caterpillar Commercial.

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