 | Our History And The Story So Far  Many years ago, back in 1978 two guy’s had an idea; 3 month’s later Powerhouse was born. In those days disco equipment was in its infancy, it was very expensive, very basic (2 belt drive decks and a mixer in a wooden box was the latest technology), and almost nobody hired it. It was not particularly reliable, breakdowns were common, and a lot of spare equipment was very necessary at every gig.
Now we are in our 41st year, and as far as we know the longest established disco equipment Hire Company in the UK. The wealth of knowledge and experience we have gained over these years is incalculable.
Back in 1981 we opened our first hire shop in Whetstone, North London where we stayed until 1998. We moved from there to a larger retail premises in the same area, and eventually some 8 years later added a small but separate warehouse facility for some additional storage space. 2 year’s on, and bursting at the seams we moved again, this time to our present location in New Barnet. Now housed on an industrial estate we have offices and warehousing to cope with all the additional equipment, vehicles & staff required to run a busy and successful hire company. The rest of this story is an exciting future with ever faster movements in technology. |
 | Our Current Facility In New Barnet  Our base in New Barnet which has been our home since September 2018 is ideally positioned for providing a delivery service to the whole of London. One of the main reasons we chose to put our base here is because it is far enough out of London to be affordable, but equally, close enough to Central London to be able to deliver hire equipment quickly when a client has a last minute request. The size of our facility is also perfect for the size of our Company, including ample parking for customers visiting for meetings, or to collect equipment.
We are all housed under one roof with offices including meeting rooms and our warehouse storage facility. Loading in and out of customer’s vehicles and our own fleet of vans are facilitated through a large shutter directly into the warehouse, and we have a separate entrance for visitor’s and staff. |
Many years of experience have shown us the type of equipment our customers want to hire, we listen to what they say and act on their suggestions. As you look through the pages of our website today you will find available to hire the most popular equipment from most of the major equipment manufacturers around the world.
When you hire from us you are in safe hands, if you are taking the equipment away with you to set up yourself, and you have difficulty putting it all together you can log on to our website, and through the main hire page access our equipment setup manuals for assistance. This should give you all the information you require, or alternatively just give us a call for help. We are always at the end of the phone, even outside our normal office hours as our phone system gives you the option to divert to an alternative number for technical assistance.
 | Delivery & Setup Service  We will be delighted to deliver and set up all your hired equipment in and around the London area, should you require it. We have specialist delivery teams who are fully experienced in the rigging of all our hire equipment quickly, safely and tidily. They will tape down all cables as appropriate and ensure that everything is set up properly, and in full working order. Each vehicle carries a small tool kit, just in case any minor problems arise during set up.
Our delivery fleet all carry extra cabling for that unexpected problem, or where the power source is not exactly where the equipment is to be used.
We own and operate three 3.5 ton delivery vehicles, both of which are fully sign written (so you always know who we are when we arrive) and have satellite navigation systems on board.
We also provide a delivery only service for those who wish to set the equipment up themselves. |
The Powerhouse Hire team have been carefully chosen to give our clients the best possible standard of service, and we believe them to be the finest in our industry. We are also continually reviewing what we do, how we do it, and where needed improving any aspect of our service on an ongoing basis. We aim to give you the lowest possible charges & great value for money for our hire equipment, coupled with the widest variety of gear, and the highest quality of equipment & customer service. All members of our team will be wearing our distinctive uniform emblazoned with our Company logo, so you will always know who they are. If any member of our team fails to meet the standards you expect from us please let us know. We intend to make Powerhouse Hire the best; nothing less will do.
 | Matt Hawkins Matt has been at Powerhouse Hire since leaving college in 2004 and is a Director of the Company. He is a accomplished sound & lighting engineer and oversees larger events to make certain that all goes off without a hitch. His IT skills have put him in charge of the company’s Social Media platforms. Matt deals with many of our more prestigious and corporate clients, he has a flair for design and themes some of the events we are involved in. He also can sometimes be found delivering & setting up our hire equipment. |
 | Michelle Hawkins Michelle joined the Powerhouse Hire team in July 2011 since leaving a managerial role in a large high street retail fashion chain. She brought with her a wealth of sales, marketing and managerial experience which has taken us up to the next level in terms of business growth and customer service. She is also a Director of the Company and manages our website. Michelle also has control over all of our accounts and finances. Now that makes her a very busy and responsible human being. When you next contact us to enquire about equipment hire Michelle will be on hand to help choose the right equipment for your event and help you through the booking process. |
 | Steve Hawkins Steve is one of the founder members and has been at Powerhouse Hire from the beginning in 1978. Although now semi retired he still has a large input into the business. He was previously our Operations Director and had overall control of the day to day running of the business. His responsibilities included procurement, staffing, transport and doing all the things that everyone else thinks is beneath their dignity ! This included getting his hands dirty delivering equipment during busy periods such as Christmas, so you may still meet him when your delivery of equipment is taking place in the busier months.... |
 | Sonia Hawkins Sonia has been with Powerhouse Hire since 1991. Although now semi retired Sonia is still a Director of the Company. She used to have complete control of the company’s accounts, credit control, invoice payments & administration. She was charged with ensuring that the business has adequate funds for our continued growth & development.. Now that almost certainly made her the most powerful and feared person in the team. The accounts are now controlled by Michelle Hawkins with Sonia over seeing in busier periods. |
 | Dan Dan joined our team in 2018 and manages our warehouse along with delivering and setting up equipment at a number of events. Dan has been in this industry for over 20 years. His main background was stage managing large festivals all over the UK and Europe. His vast knowledge of sound systems and events makes him a great addition to our team. |
 | Kevin Kevin has been driving for us on Saturdays and Sundays for just over 5 years, Kevin has a huge knowledge of our equipment and can be found on most deliveries. |
 | Lee Lee joined our team in 2019 and is one of our delivery drivers and riggers. He is also an accomplished DJ. He has over 5 of years of experience within the industry especially within live events. Lee's vast knowledge and customer service skills make him a great addition to the team. |
 | Joe Joe joined our team in 2013 and is one of our riggers, he has a vast amount of knowledge in the industry and assists our drivers setting up equipment at a number of events. He also prepares equipment ready for it to go out on deliveries. Having been with us for over 5 years Joe has a great deal of knowledge of our equipment and is a valued member of the team. |
 | Archie Joe joined our team in 2018 and is one of our riggers, he has a vast amount of knowledge in the industry and assists our drivers setting up equipment at a number of events. He also prepares equipment ready for it to go out on deliveries. Archie is also training to be a lighting programmer/operator and has been controlling lighting desk on smaller jobs over the last few months, |
 | Olun Olun joined our team in 2013 and is one of our riggers, he has a vast amount of knowledge in the industry and assists our drivers setting up equipment at a number of events. He also prepares equipment ready for it to go out on deliveries. Having been with us for over 5 years Olun has a great deal of knowledge of our equipment and although working with us on the weekend is also at university studying event production and sound. |
 | Brandon Brandon joined our team in 2019 and is one of our riggers, he has a vast amount of knowledge i and assists our drivers setting up equipment at a number of events. He also prepares equipment ready for it to go out on deliveries, he is also studying event production at college. |
 | Dave Johnson Dave otherwise known as “Doctor Disco” is our chief technical engineer. Dave has been part of the Powerhouse Hire team since 2005, and maintains our vast inventory of hire equipment, along with many external repairs that we take on for other DJ’s, hire companies, nightclubs, pubs and bars in the London area. When he is not fully occupied with DJ equipment repairs he maintains cardiac heart monitor machines, just to keep his hand in, as it were. Some say he invented electronics! |
 | Fred Fred has been a huge member of the powerhouse team for almost 2 years, assisting clients and generally making everyone feel good, although he does leave a trail of destruction where ever he goes. |
The future……… it’s impossible to predict with any certainty, just look at the weather forecast to prove that theory.
So where do we think we can go from here?
Well almost everything is getting smaller; if you go back 20 years DJ’s needed a small van just for their vinyl collection, let alone the gear to play it on. Then came the CD, you could get all those into a shoulder bag, now you don’t need anything larger than an i-pod to store 20,000 tunes . Mobile phones which were once the size of a house brick will now fit inside a cigarette packet & laptops have taken the place of a room full of computer hardware. LED’s are replacing the light bulb in every type of DJ lighting effect; in fact everything is getting smaller apart from the UK’s national debt, and of course the hire stock here at Powerhouse Hire, which is, and has been growing along with our business continually throughout the economic downturn, and that is thanks to our continual investment in new equipment, and the unwaving support of our loyal clientele; for which we thank you all…….
The next step was to increase the size of our warehouse space to accommodate all of our new hire equipment and this commenced from the start of September 2010. We then in 2018 increased our warehouse space further by moving into a brand new office and warehouse just across the road from our previous space.
So, where will we go from there; we’ll just have to wait and see….
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