Ex Carillion director launches ‘Airbnb for plant’

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A former director of Carillion has launched a new plant hire firm based on the Airbnb model.

Shareplant.com aims to allow idle plant to generate income for its owners by offering it out for hire to other contractors and to local authorities.

Any kind of construction plant, equipment or tools can be listed and offered for hire, and users can leave reviews to share their experiences with other potential users. 

Registration is free, afte which Shareplant.com checks users’ identity before giving them the authority to list equipment for hire. Members are sent ‘onboarding’ information to familiarise them with the site.

In exchange for its services, the website charges the owner of the plant 15% of the transaction value.

Founder Mark Watters, who is a former director of nuclear projects at Doosan Babcock, as well as being a former programme director at Carillion Civil Engineering until the end of last year, said he wanted to introduce construction to the so-called sharing economy.

Watters said: "I’ve been in the construction industry for 30 years. I had a ‘eureka’ moment last year when thinking about ways to reduce idle time and increase utilisation for equipment owners. Coincidently, my family had started using Airbnb to book holidays, allowing people with spare rooms (assets) to rent them to people looking for accommodation. It struck me that this model would be perfect to minimise equipment idle time and to introduce the construction industry to the ‘sharing economy’.

"Efficient equipment utilisation is key to running a competitive, profitable construction business. SharePlant can help owners generate regular income for unused stock and it allows construction professionals to search and find the specialist equipment where and when they need it."