Coates Hire is Australia's largest

equipment rental Equipment rental, also called plant hire in some countries (in the UK for instance), is a service industry providing machinery, equipment and tools of all kinds and sizes (from earthmoving to powered access, from power generation to hand-held ...

company operating in every Australian state and territory as well as

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is a fully owned subsidiary of

Seven Group Holdings Seven Group Holdings Limited (SGH, formerly Seven Network Limited) is an Australian diversified operating and investment group in the media, mining and construction industries. History Seven Network Limited was formed in 1991 by receivers t ...

. As of 2019, Coates Hire has over A$1.7 billion of hire equipment at original cost which is more than three times the offering of the next largest general hire competitor.

History

Coates Hire was founded in 1885 as a small engineering company in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It diversified into equipment hire in the years following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

when a vibratory roller was purchased and lent to potential customers on a try before you buy policy. Coates Hire was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 1955. In 1972 Coates Hire was purchased by

Australian National Industries Australian National Industries was an Australian heavy engineering company with diverse range of holdings. History In 1911 John McGrath began to sell motor vehicles. It operated the first public garage in New South Wales. The company held motor ...

.Our History
Coates Hire In 1993 it commenced operations in Indonesia. In August 1996 it was relisted on the ASX. In 2002, Wreckair was acquired from

Brambles Limited Brambles Limited is an Australian company that specialises in the pooling of unit-load equipment, pallets, crates and containers. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. History Brambles traces its history to 1875, when Walter Bram ...

. In January 2008, it was delisted from the ASX when acquired by private investors

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and ...

and the National Hire Group. The hire businesses of Coates Hire and the National Hire Group were merged to consolidate the two largest hire companies in Australia. On 25 October 2017,

acquired the remaining 53% from The Carlyle Group as well as from minority owners. Seven Group Holdings had first invested in Coates Hire, alongside The Carlyle Group and management in 2008 through its

WesTrac WesTrac is a Caterpillar dealer. It was owned by Australian Capital Equity, which in turn was owned by Kerry Stokes. In 2010 it and Seven Network Limited merged to form Seven Group Holdings. Headquarters WesTrac is based in South Guildford, Wes ...

subsidiary. On 10 June 2021, Coates Hir
rebranded
from Coates Hire to Coates.

Sponsorships

Coates Hire has been a regular sponsor of Supercars teams and events. It was title sponsor for

Nick Percat Nick Percat (born 14 September 1988) is an Australian racing driver who currently races in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving for Walkinshaw Andretti United in the No. 2 Holden ZB Commodore. He won the Bathurst 1000 at his first attemp ...

’s 2012 Development Series, 2013 Australian Carrera Cup Championship and 2014 V8 Supercars Championship campaigns.Nick Percat reveals Coates Hire Holden
''Speeedcafe'' 26 February 2014 It was previously the title sponsor for various Supercars events including the

Ipswich SuperSprint The Ipswich SuperSprint was an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich, Queensland. The event was a regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Shell Championship Seri ...

, Sydney 500, Supercars Challenge, Melbourne 400 and the Newcastle 500.

References

{{Authority control Companies based in Sydney Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Construction equipment rental companies Seven Network 1885 establishments in Australia