Crate rental service provider Pluscrates is celebrating a double-digit birthday after successfully completing its first decade of trading.

Pluscrates’ launch in 2008 could hardly have come at a worse time, as Group Managing Director Neil McGuigan explained, “We began trading just ahead of the global banking crisis, secured our corporate finance with RBS just ahead of its collapse and our first delivery of crates was into the offices of Lehman Brothers – it was a tough start.”

Within a year of its inception Pluscrates had joined forces with Northern Crates – the Manchester-based crate rental business founded by Nick and Claire Flaxman – and opened service centres in London, Birmingham and Livingston in Scotland. A Bristol service centre and satellite depots in south-east London and Newcastle quickly followed.

Reflecting on the company’s progress since 2008, Managing Director John Mitchell paid tribute to the long-serving senior management team responsible for most of the hard work; Stuart McLean, Regional Manager Scotland, Craig English in the North West, Ian Gilkes in the Midlands and Stuart Stansfield, National Operations Manager, Roy Bunker in London and Paula O’Shea, Business Administration Manager.

Pluscrates Ltd and its manufacturing business Advanced Crates Ltd are both wholly owned subsidiaries of The Rental Group (London) Ltd.

Photo: John Mitchell (L) and Neil McGuigan in 2008