History

Since we first started in early 1949, its safe to say we've got a few stories to tell from along the way. Read on to find out our story and how we built the company up to what it is today from that initial £100 investment.

1949
1950
1953
1955
1956
1959
1960
1965
1967
1972
1978
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1989
1999
2002
2004

1949

The company was initially formed by Wilfred Chippindale on nothing but £100, working from home selling concrete and scaffolding.

1950

Our first ever depot was a rental unit at Barrack Street in Leeds (LS7). We appointed our first fitter and purchased a brand new 2 cylinder Jowett van.

Shortly after we were awarded the Wickham and Alcon Pump Agency.

1953

Brian Chippindale joins after completing an engineering course at Wickham Engineering and finishing 2 Years National Service.

Later in the year we were awarded the Multico Woodmaking Machinery Agency.

1955

Gordon Chippindale joins the business after completing an engineering course at Alcon Pumps and finishing 2 Years of National Service.

We started our hire division with our first hireable product the Thwaites Dumper.

Awarded the Thwaites Dumper and Bristol Compressor agencies.

1956

Left our Barrack Street rental unit and bought our first premises, St Ann’s Works in Kirkstall, Leeds.

Awarded the Bristol Crawler Tractor Agency, after this we went on to sell an impressive 32 units within the first 12 months!

1959

Awarded the Green Roller agency.

1960

Our hire and sales divisions both increased rapidly over the next few years through hard work and building a reputation for a quality hire fleet which comprised of mixers, dumpers, pumps, hoists and rollers.

1965

We moved our premises to Butterbowl Works in Leeds (LS12) which we still own to this present day!

1967

We expanded our reach and opened a new depot in Doncaster. Unfortunately 2 years later we closed this, despite this set back our hire fleet expanded rapidly.

1972

We opened a new depot in Keighley.

All our vans and trucks were upgraded with radio telephones, we were one of the first companies in the UK to embrace this new technology.

1978

Awarded the Priestman Mini Mustang Excavator Agency.

1982

Company went completely electronic installing computers throughout. This was a big step forward and we were one of the first companies in the UK to do so.

1983

Nigel Chippindale joined the company after serving an apprenticeship as a motor vehicle mechanic and gaining a HND in Business Management.

1984

Company name officially changed to Chippindale Plant Limited.

1985

Wilfred Chippindale, founder of the company dies.

1986

Awarded the Pel-Job Excavator agency, Pel-Job was later taken over by Volvo.

1989

Gordon Chippindale dies. His son Peter Chippindale joins the company after working out in Libya and completing an engineering degree at Sheffield University.

1999

Sales over the next few years increased dramatically. 50 Years in business was celebrated at The Great Yorkshire Show.

Awarded Bomag and Atlas Copco agencies.

2002

We acquired Mechplants York and Wakefield depots, doubling our turnover.

2004

Opened a new depot in Catterick and also gained a depot in Huddersfield through the acquisition of the Huddersfield Hire Centre. This was also the start of our new Tool Division.

Chippindale Now

How we have grown

Since our early days, we’ve progressed a great deal and are now one of the largest privately owned hire, and sales companies in the UK. We continue to roll out and improve our customer focused depot style which now spans the entire North of England, even parts of Scotland and Wales!

We’ve always prided ourselves on our ability to be at the forefront of technology and innovation. Investment into new site safety initiatives, collaborations producing new products with our dealerships and helping our customers develop solutions to their problems is an integral part of how we operate.

This same attitude is applied to our hire fleet, where over 80% of equipment is now equipped with the latest Tier 4i engines and throughout the next year, we expect to consolidate and upgrade our current depot structure making significant investments into infrastructure.

Our USP has always been our service, and as a family business, this is something close to our hearts. This, coupled with the fact we have the same financial clout as some of the bigger players, enables us to provide our customers with a wealth of knowledge backed up by the best equipment and infrastructure required to make the overall experience as seamless as it can be!