Regional hire firm Quinto Crane & Plant is investing £2.5million to improve and diversify its fleet, including the launch of a new demolition and dismantling and dismantling department.

The investment by owners Oliver and Hannah Arnold, who acquired Quinto in a multi-million pound buy-out deal last October, also includes a number of new cranes and the refurbishment of some of its existing cranes and other equipment.

Demolition specialists Chris Winfield and Adrian Hardesty have been hired to head the new department and Quinto is also planning to recruit a number of additional staff, including some apprenticeship opportunities.

Quinto is based in Norwich and has seven depots across the East of England and the East Midlands, including sites in Ipswich and Chelmsford.

It was formed in 1977 through a management buy-out, having orginally started in the 1950s as part of the Norwich-based Pointer Group which was later acquired by the Ready Mixed Concrete company.

The name Quinto reflected the five directors involved in the buy-out and the five depots from which it operated at the time.

Mrs Arnold said: “The addition of demolition and dismantling service brings Quinto full circle to its former Pointer glory days when cranes and demolition were run side by side employing in the region of 1,000 people. “There is a construction-related synergy between our lifting service, machinery moving and demolition and dismantling operations that will benefit our clients.

“And, due to our early success since purchasing Quinto, we are recruiting for a number of positions

across the company.”