Monthly Summary: December

A monthly summary of what happened at SW Hire this month.

The monthly run-down at SW Hire.

As we continued into the final month of 2023, the rain continued to fall but machinery remained in demand – particularly big horsepower to get through the wet ground.

An 8R 370 headed out the yard, later joined by a telehandler to help assist with loading materials. Meanwhile, a John Deere and plant trailer combination were delivered to a UK airport on the 1^st December.

The tracked dumper remained a popular piece of machinery and was in high demand through December. With the benefit of tracks, the dumper eases through wet ground with minimal disturbance, making it a preferable choice during periods of wet weather. The 180° swivel also reduces the need to manoeuvre the dumper for the correct tipping angle.

Christmas kicked off with the Original Santa Float starting their Christmas journey visiting the Bristol area. The float was pulled by one of our John Deere 6R 155 tractors, wrapped as a giant present. For the prior weeks leading to December the Original Santa Float team worked hard, vinyl wrapping the tractor in a Christmas wrapping paper design – covering the entire tractor, including the wheels. Finished with a giant bow & Gromit on the roof and speakers providing festive music, the whole float looked fantastic, spreading Christmas cheer whilst raising money for Wallace & Gromit’s The Grand Appeal & Time is Precious.

As part of the operation, our people carrier trailer followed the float to transport the team from the end of their routes back up to the start of each location they visited.

On the 9^th December, four farmers from Chippenham YFC were selected to compete in a hedge laying competition. As part of our support and sponsorship, we supplied overalls and jackets for the team to wear for the competition…

As the winter months rolled around and the majority of machines came back from their harvest hires – the slightly older machines in the fleet were readied for sale. All available items can be viewed here. Ranging from grain, silage, flatbed, and plant trailers to muckspreaders, tankers and hedgecutters.

On the 17^th December our team supported the Devizes tractor and tinsel tractor run, raising money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance. The workshop team took a selection of John Deere and Fastrac 4220 iCON tractors to participate in the run, whilst a 7R 310 was on display at the Devizes Marketplace Centre. So far they have beyond exceeded their target of £2,000, and the link is still open for donations – it can be found here.