Accelerated success for New Zealand online equipment hire portal

Australian-based PlantMiner says its online marketplace for plant, equipment and subcontractors has taken New Zealand by storm after its inception to the market just over a year ago. With the support of New Zealand businessman and investor, Humphry Rolleston, Executive Chairman of Asset Management, the construction portal expanded into NZ in January 2015, and has since attracted more than 300 local plant, equipment and subcontractor suppliers offering over 17,400 plant, equipment and services for hire, reveals the company.

The online platform streamlines the procurement process for estimators, engineers, project managers and site foreman alike, and gives them a one-stop-shop to gather apple-forapple quotes for equipment hire and subcontractors.

Not only does PlantMiner help contractors say goodbye to trawling through business directories and playing phone tag to get hire rates, it promises, but it also provides suppliers with hot leads and a continuously expanding network of clients.

PlantMiner General Manager, Dan Wilson says expansion into New Zealand was also encouraged by demand from PlantMiner’s established Australian client base also operating across the Tasman.

“Since opening in New Zealand we’ve had some of the biggest contractors including Downer, CPB Contractors and Fulton Hogan utilising the service to procure rates for equipment and subcontractor services, as well as New Zealand’s leading hire companies like Gough CAT, Envirowaste and AB Equipment listing their equipment.”

The 50-year-high construction boom in New Zealand had PlantMiner set its roots in its epicentre, Auckland, with a team of sales and business development managers.

“We’re an online construction marketplace, but our strategy is both online and off line. We understand the value of relationships in the construction industry, which is why we’ve employed a team of Business Development Managers who visit hundreds of construction sites a week to dig up leads for our 300+ local suppliers.”

Marketing Coordinator, Sarita Flett, from Auckland’s Pronto Hire says, “PlantMiner is an excellent shortcut for finding new customers and contacts, and gaining access to the open market. Even if a job doesn’t go through, PlantMiner connects us to a network of businesses who may have never heard of Pronto Hire before. And that’s often all that’s needed to open the door to success. Their personalised service couldn’t be better.”

Pronto Hire, a 2013 newcomer to the hire industry, has expanded their f leet by almost 27 times in the space of two years and has won tens-of-thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment hire work through PlantMiner to date.

“The early adopters to the PlantMiner site are the ones seeing the most success,” said Wilson.

More than $100million in work has been awarded to plant, equipment and subcontracting companies listing their services on PlantMiner across Australia and New Zealand since launching.

New Zealand subcontractors and suppliers are actively needed to connect with the high demand of enquiries through the PlantMiner portal.

PlantMiner’s high-growth has also earned it recognition as one of the rising stars in the Deloitte Australian Technology Fast 50 programme last year, and the i Awards 2015 Start-Up Of The Year.