Nationwide Platforms

Nationwide Platforms is part of the Loxam Group, which has focused exclusively on equipment rental to professionals for more than 50 years. The company operates over 12,000 machines from depots located across the UK. It serves the infrastructure, construction, facilities management, nuclear, telecoms, TV, film, media & events, aviation, and wind sectors.

Its hire fleet includes boom lifts with working heights from 10m to 58.5m and outreach up to 24m, scissor lifts providing access up to 33.5m, low level access platforms offering access up to 8m and safe working loads up to 250kg, tracked booms with working heights up to 31m, truck mounted cherry pickers offering access from 13.3m to 90m, van mounts with working heights between 12m and 16.5m, and telehandlers for lifting to heights up to 17.5m with lifting capacity up to 4,000kg. Nationwide Platforms offers Harness ON™ for safe working at height and provides powered access training. It offers online tools enabling customers to manage and monitor their account. The company is certified as a 'Great Place to Work'.

Trade customers and operators booking access-equipment training make up much of the feedback for this Nottingham branch, where the most common praise concerns the quality of instruction on courses such as the IPAF licence and harness and platform training. Several reviewers describe the sessions as well organised and worthwhile, and named trainers including Tony and Steve Cadman come in for particular warmth, with their knowledge and approachable manner making a good day out of what could be a dry subject. The provision of tea and coffee is mentioned as a welcome touch.

Against that, accounts of the service counter are mixed. A recurring theme in the lower-rated feedback is inconsistency, with the standard of help said to vary depending on the member of staff and the day, and some customers describe difficulties getting through by telephone or email. Response times and staff turnover are raised as concerns. The training side of the operation is consistently well regarded by those who completed a course, while the customer-service experience around hire and enquiries is described as uneven.