The new Project showroom at Bulwer Avenue. Left to right, Jan Looijenga, Bill Crawford, Martyn Guilbert, Andy Vaudin and Matt Thoumine. (0604630)

RETAIL and trade customers stand to benefit from Project Hire’s latest expansion. The firm, which has been based in Bulwer Avenue since 1992, has opened a new showroom.

Staff and guests celebrated with bacon rolls, drinks and a buffet at a ceremony that was attended by Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer. Project Hire MD Martyn Guilbert said he’d had his eye on the extra space for the past 10 years.

‘For some time we’ve been at the point where we were unable to grow more because of the lack of space and finally it became available at the end of last year. The new showroom will create a much more customer-friendly experience, as well as allowing us to sell a larger range of products. We’ve recently branched out into mini and macro excavators, mini dump trucks and rollers and we’re adding more and more all the time.’

Project Hire was founded by Mr Guilbert and fellow director Bill Crawford in 1992.