Selwood Ltd
With a history dating back to 1946, Selwood Ltd has a proud history of delivering high-quality pump and plant equipment within both the direct sales and hire markets
Proud to deliver
With a history dating back to 1946, Selwood Ltd has a proud history of delivering high-quality pump and plant equipment within both the direct sales and hire markets
Since emerging in post-war Britain during a time of enormous rebuilding and development, Selwood has endured as a leading name within the manufacturing and plant hire sector and is considered to be only the second plant hire business established within the UK. As such the company can rightfully claim to have entered the market at ‘ground level’ and has since diversified to match the trends and demands of an ever-evolving marketplace. Selwood is currently headquartered in Eastleigh, Hampshire and today enjoys a yearly turnover of around £50 million and has expanded to include eight locations dedicated to plant-hire and a further 20 locations dealing with pump hire in addition to its manufacturing facility, which employ around 420 personnel across the business.
Today the business is organised into three separate divisions that offer targeted services to the company’s chosen sectors within the UK and abroad. The pump sales and manufacturing division for 
example, produces pumps and sells them within the UK and to the wider export market. Although Selwood enjoys a strong presence within the UK around 75 per cent of the pumps that the company produces are exported globally via its worldwide distribution network. “We exported to in excess of 50 countries around the world last year,” managing director Chris Garrett elaborates. “The traditional bases are with major European markets but equally Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. A key market for us is the oil industry where Selwood products are applied to the environmental protection side of the industry specifically. We can deliver our pumps to anywhere they are required.”
Furthermore Selwood has developed long-standing relationships with clients at home and abroad during its long history, which in turn have established the Selwood name as a highly trusted brand and a mark of quality as Chris further explains: “We have two relationships that date back to the 1960s and 1970s in South Africa and the Netherlands, so in this respect Selwood products have been around the world for many years and therefore clients know the product. We also take part in exhibitions around the world to demonstrate Selwood products as well.”
The range of pumps supplied by Selwood includes solids handing pumps, drainer pumps, high-head pumps, positive displacement pumps, hydraulic submersible pumps and super silent pumps as well as a full range of accessories and the patented Selprime self-priming system, which encompasses an environmentally friendly design that has none of the associated drawbacks of oil vapour emissions and oil emulsification that can be associated with other designs. All pumps are produced in association with trusted contractors within the UK and Selwood constantly works to ensure that its standards remain high and that its designs remain innovative and market leading. The company’s hire operations focus on the UK market where it has established itself as the leading provider of pumps, plant hire equipment and accessories. “We assemble the pumps on site, they are all cast in UK foundries and machined within the UK before they come to us to be put together. We obviously own all the patterns and associated tooling, so we operate more of an onsite assembly facility with all work sourced in the UK. We also have an engineering section that makes modifications to existing products for bespoke options and development. The most recent changes to be undertaken are on tier changes to engines where we are moving to tier four, which has meant a lot of design work to package the new engines onto the product. Equally we have just launched a new range where we have revisited our H range of high head pumps and that was during 2013 and there are a few new products in this range that are still in the pipeline.”
The H range of pumps currently encompasses the H80, H100, H125 and H200 and includes capacities of between 95 m3/hr (H80) to 950 m3/hr (H200); the H design also includes mechanical 
shaft sealing that provides leak-free operation. The most recently launched model is the H200, however general manager Tony Killick believes that the H150 offering a maximum capacity of 450m3/hr including solids of up to 38mm – will possibly be the H range’s strongest selling variant. “This is purely based on usage and enquiries,” he says. “It is good for the UK market in the quarrying sector and we are shipping a lot of these [H150] to Australasia, i
The Selwood pump hire division and plant sales division and hire fleet are both focused on the UK marketplace, operating nationally as trusted partners in various applications. Selwood pumps can tackle clean water, water with fine and larger solids, sludge, slurries, oils and hydrocarbons screened and crude sewage, while the company’s plant equipment has applications within construction, earth handling and civil engineering. Although Selwood offers its clients a diverse range of products, its main focus is on providing first-class service and addressing the needs of its customers as Chris further explains: “We have segregated our rental business in the UK so that it is specialised. We have specialist plant and pump hire facilities so that the two do not become confused. The company’s personnel come to work and have one thing to focus on, we are not trying to run mixed locations and drive cost synergies out of the business. What we are focused on is giving the customer exactly what they need and that is a key strategy of the business.”
Although the global recession spurred a slowdown in construction projects within the UK and around the world, Selwood has remained strong and used the experience of weathering the economic downturn to increase the efficiency of the business and ensure that it is well placed to meet the needs of a resurgent market. “We see a continued recovery in the UK construction industry and we are looking at that positively,” Chris concludes. “We have supply frameworks with eight out of 11 of the UK’s water and sewage companies and that is obviously a key part of our market, however we have also established a team who are focused on developing work away from the water industry. There are of course, huge opportunities overseas be that directly or through distributors. I think that over the next three to five years the plan is to stay true to the company’s missions and values. Obviously we focus on sales and numbers for the longevity of the business but I think service is what really drives our business forward.”
Selwood Ltd
Services: Sales and hire of punp and plant equipment