Speedy Hire, the UK’s leading provider of tools, equipment, and plant hire services, supports a wide range of customers — from national customers working on major infrastructure and construction projects, to local tradespeople.
With 135 Service Centres and on-site locations across the UK and Ireland, Speedy Hire ensures essential tools and equipment are always within reach. Whether it’s a single drill or a battery storage solution capable of powering an entire building site, the business is trusted by many of the UK’s top contractors.
To meet rising demand and deliver consistently high service standards, Speedy Hire operates a national fleet of more than 800 vans, 200 HGVs, and 600 company vehicles, a large proportion of which are electric and hybrid. This fleet plays a vital role in daily operations and, as the business works towards its ambition of becoming net zero by 2040, transforming how that fleet is fuelled has become a major priority.
Speedy Hire’s ESG strategy, The Decade to Deliver, outlines clear targets for carbon reduction, innovation, and sustainable operations. Since launching the strategy in 2020, Speedy Hire has made strong progress: 81% of its car fleet is now electric/hybrid, alongside 24% of its LCV fleet and nine HGVs. By 2027, the business aims for two-thirds of its LCVs and 40% of its HGVs to operate on electric or alternative fuels. To support this transition, Speedy Hire required a fuel and charging partner that could offer integrated, scalable solutions nationwide.
The Challenge
Speedy Hire operates at scale, requiring a significant refuelling network to support its ICE vehicles, while its goals for net zero mean there is a growing demand for an electric charging strategy.
The company was looking for a fuel and charging partner who could offer flexibility on refuelling locations so that drivers didn’t need to shop around for the best prices, adding dead mileage to their workday, a way of always getting the best deal, and a fuel supplier that could support the company’s ESG targets and its move to EV with an electric vehicle charging card.
Speedy Hire wanted a single fuel card provider for their mixed fleet to simplify their processes and have a central point where data could be collated and analysed.
Most of all, Speedy Hire needed their fuel needs handled by a single partner instead of several, with first-rate customer service and a single connection to the data they need to optimise their fuelling.
The Solution
Speedy Hire looked to Allstar to answer its needs with a suite of offerings across fuel and EV with the Allstar Chargepass card, including working with its sister-company, Keyfuels, for its HGV fuelling needs.
In doing so, its drivers can access the UK’s largest fuel card network, Allstar is accepted at over 90% of fuel sites across the UK and gives drivers’ access to fuel spend across four main supermarkets, major oil companies and motorway fuel sites.
Its EV network is the UK’s fastest electric charging payment network for businesses and encompasses more than 28,000 locations nationwide, including more than 77,000 chargers across its growing electric vehicle charging network. With a focus on getting drivers back on the road as quickly as possible, 83% of its electric vehicle charging network is fast, rapid and ultra-rapid.
Speedy Hire now has 300 Allstar Chargepass cards in circulation amongst its drivers. Drivers can search, plan and pay for EV charging in the Allstar Co-Pilot app and fleet managers can access Allstar Online to view all their transactions and analyse where and when drivers are spending money.
The Result
In less than a year, Allstar has had a transformative effect on Speedy Hire. With around 600 cards using the Discount Diesel network, while the petrol/hybrid fleet can use the low-cost supermarket network, and EVs have access to a vast number of charging stations across the country.
Those commercial vehicle drivers using Keyfuels alone reduced the cost on fuel in the first 6 months that they have been working together, with an average saving of 11p per litre, and their target savings for the project was achieved in these 6 months, not 12.
And while Keyfuels and Allstar are sister companies, they work together giving Speedy Hire the single point of contact that makes anything from gathering data to client contact far easier.
Aaron Powell, Fleet and Logistics Manager, Speedy Hire said:
“Working with Allstar and Keyfuels gives us control over our fuel costs, while futureproofing our company as we migrate our fleet to EV by 2030. The savings we have made by utilising discount diesel alone is significant for a company with over a thousand vehicles, and we expect the savings to mount up as our fleet grows and embraces alternative fuels.”
“The EV offering has been integral to our strategy and ensuring that we can meet our targets, not only that but it is easy to use and accepted virtually everywhere - the last thing we want is vehicles stood around trying to find a place where they can charge and use the payment card. It’s relatively new but as it grows and evolves, we will grow with it.”
“Perhaps just as importantly as their network and their technology is how easy it is to work with them; Allstar gave us the best option of being able to fill up virtually wherever we want. But their client service is second to none and the amount of knowledge they bring to the table is staggering. This, along with the ease with which we have been able to integrate into our operations, means Allstar has become an unsung hero in our arsenal.”
“We wanted a team that would be an extension of our own and that is exactly what they are. With a solution to support each of our unique needs.”
Going forward, Speedy Hire has plans to introduce a greater number of electric, hybrid and alternatively fuelled vehicles to its fleet by 2027.
Paul Holland, Managing Director for UK/ANZ Fleet at Corpay, including UK brands, Allstar and Keyfuels, said:
“Speedy Hire needed a single fuel and payment card provider that answer all their needs, from refuelling and electric charging to supporting their HGV fleet. They also needed the best network available so their drivers wouldn’t have to worry about where they could fill up, as well as requiring insights to optimise their operations. Allstar was the answer with Allstar Chargepass, a best in class offering that could consolidate all their needs with Keyfuels for HGV requirements. As they continue their journey to electrification of their fleet, we will be backing them every step of the way.
We’re proud to be supporting a company that has a long history of providing tools and specialist building equipment, ensuring their services can be delivered wherever they are needed around the UK.”
How can Allstar help your business? Call us on 0345 266 5101
* Savings on Diesel can be made at participating Discount Diesel sites on our network when the card is swiped.
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