Finding the best equipment hire in Wellington comes down to whether the gear is sitting on the yard when you need it and how far you have to drive to collect it. The companies below cover the full spread, from cordless tools, floor sanders and water blasters for a weekend job at home through to excavators, scissor lifts and compaction rollers for a commercial site, with depots for equipment hire in Wellington city and out through Porirua and the Hutt Valley. Hirepool Wellington Central runs a full branch on Victoria Street in Te Aro, while AM Hire is a locally owned yard at Kenepuru in Porirua.
1Hirepool Wellington Central
Hirepool’s Wellington Central branch sits on Victoria Street in Te Aro and carries a general hire range that runs from hand tools and sanders up to excavators and towable cherry pickers. The branch supplies the central city along with Karori, Island Bay, Newtown and Miramar, and takes both trade accounts and one-off DIY hires. Hire rates are published online branch by branch across four-hour, daily and weekly periods.
Services
- Excavators, mini excavators, loaders and mini skid steer loaders
- Scissor lifts, knuckle booms, telescopic booms and towable cherry pickers
- Concrete breakers, mixers, grinders and concrete cutting gear
- Plate compactors, rammers and smooth or padfoot drum rollers
- Trailers, generators, light towers and towable water blasters
Highlights
- Te Aro branch supplying Karori, Island Bay, Newtown and Miramar
- Second general equipment hire branch at Thorndon, with another at Tawa
- Four-hour, daily and weekly hire rates published online for each branch
- Separate divisions for excavation shoring, portaloo hire and vehicle rentals
Location & Contact
Name: Hirepool Equipment Rental Wellington Central
Address: 220 Victoria Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011
Phone: 04 801 7801
Website: hirepool.co.nz/branches/wellington-central
2Kennards Hire Wellington City
Kennards Hire’s Wellington City branch is on Adelaide Road in Newtown and hires out equipment and tools for residential, commercial, industrial and DIY work. The branch range covers earthmoving, compaction, saws, pumps, ladders and scaffold, cleaning and floor care, and general site equipment. Counter staff are accredited and trained to advise on which machine suits the job and how to run it safely.
Services
- Earthmoving machines and attachments
- Compaction plates and rollers
- Saws, breakers and general power tools
- Ladders, scaffold, lifting and materials handling gear
- Pumps, site equipment, cleaning and floor care machines
Highlights
- Branch depot on Adelaide Road in Newtown, south of the Wellington central city
- Accredited and trained branch team advising on machine choice and safe operation
- Early weekday opening from 6.30am plus Saturday morning trading
Location & Contact
Name: Kennards Hire Wellington City
Address: 149-153 Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington 6021
Phone: 04 380 2810
Website: kennardshire.co.nz/branch/wellington-city
3AM Hire
AM Hire is a locally owned hire company based at Kenepuru in Porirua, servicing Wellington, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Hutt Valley. The yard carries excavators, trucks, trailers, portable toilets, chainsaws and hedge trimmers, and hires to professional contractors and householders doing a small job at home. The entrance is through the Mico Plumbing carpark on Kenepuru Drive.
Services
- Excavators from 1.7 to 2.5 tonne, with attachments including hydraulic breakers
- Mini dumpers, loaders, conveyor belts and lift and shift gear
- Braked tandem trailers, tipping trailers, car transporters and trucks
- Concrete saws, breakers, compaction equipment and water blasters
- Floor sanders, carpet cleaners, dehumidifiers and interior decorating gear
Highlights
- One hundred percent locally owned, operating from a Kenepuru Drive yard
- Delivery and pickup offered across the equipment range
- Hire rates published on the website item by item
- Open six days, including Saturday
- Both long term and short term hire arrangements
Location & Contact
Name: AM Hire
Address: Unit 4, 85 Kenepuru Drive, Kenepuru, Porirua 5022
Phone: 04 237 0308
Website: amhire.co.nz
4Total Access
Total Access is an access equipment specialist whose Wellington branch is at Gracefield in Lower Hutt, hiring out the machines used for work above ground level. The fleet takes in electric and rough terrain scissor lifts, knuckle and telescopic booms, spider booms, truck and ute mounted booms, telehandlers and lighting towers. Established in 2008, the company also runs elevated work platform training and rope access crews from its branches.
Services
- Electric and rough terrain scissor lifts
- Knuckle, telescopic and spider boom lifts, and vertical mast lifts
- Truck mounted and ute mounted booms
- Telehandlers, forklifts, lighting towers and mobile fuel tanks
Highlights
- Wellington branch at Gracefield in Lower Hutt
- Established in 2008, bringing together four earlier New Zealand access companies
- NZQA accredited elevated work platform training run at the branches
- Heights services covering rope access and fall arrest work
- Holds the prequalifications main contractors ask for before site access
Location & Contact
Name: Total Access
Address: 2/55 Parkside Road, Gracefield, Lower Hutt 5010
Phone: 04 237 9495
Website: totalaccess.co.nz
5HireWays
HireWays is a New Zealand family owned plant hire company whose Wellington branch is at Waitangirua in Porirua. The fleet leans towards heavier construction machinery, taking in excavators, bulldozers, graders, dump trucks, tipper trucks, telehandlers and rollers, alongside smaller landscaping and lawn care equipment. Every item is fully valeted each time it comes back to a depot, however long it has been out on hire.
Services
- Excavators, excavator attachments, bulldozers and graders
- Dump trucks, tipper trucks, loaders and loader attachments
- Rollers, compaction equipment, brooms and road sweepers
- Telehandlers plus lifting and material handling gear
- Generators, light towers, compressors, pumps and water blasters
Highlights
- Wellington branch at Waitangirua in Porirua
- New Zealand family owned, with more than 25 years in the plant hire trade
- Average fleet age of 3.8 years
- Full valet on every machine on its return to the depot
Location & Contact
Name: HireWays
Address: 7-9 Commerce Crescent, Waitangirua, Porirua 5024
Phone: 0800 11 50 20
Website: hireways.co.nz
Equipment Hire in Wellington at a Glance
| Business | Based in | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Hirepool Wellington Central | Te Aro | Te Aro branch supplying Karori, Island Bay, Newtown and Miramar |
| Kennards Hire Wellington City | Newtown | Branch depot on Adelaide Road in Newtown |
| AM Hire | Kenepuru | One hundred percent locally owned, operating from a Kenepuru Drive yard |
| Total Access | Gracefield | Wellington branch at Gracefield in Lower Hutt |
| HireWays | Waitangirua | Wellington branch at Waitangirua in Porirua |
How to Choose the Right Equipment Hire in Wellington
- Check the depot against your site. A yard in Te Aro or Newtown suits a job in the central city, while Kenepuru, Waitangirua and Gracefield are closer if you are working north or through the Hutt Valley.
- Match the machine to the access. Wellington sections are often steep, narrow or reached down a right of way, so confirm the width, weight and track type of an excavator or scissor lift before you book it.
- Ask whether delivery and pickup are available. Heavier plant needs a transporter, and hiring a trailer plus finding a vehicle rated to tow it can work out dearer than paying for delivery.
- Look for published rates. A hire company that lists four-hour, daily and weekly prices per item lets you cost the job before you commit to it.
- Confirm what training the gear calls for. Elevated work platforms need a trained operator, and some hire companies run the courses themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wellington Equipment Hire
How much does equipment hire in Wellington cost?
Hire is priced by period rather than by job, so the same machine will carry a four-hour rate, a daily rate and a weekly rate, and the weekly rate is usually a long way short of seven daily rates. Small tools such as sanders, breakers and water blasters sit at the bottom of the range, and tracked plant such as excavators and telehandlers at the top. Some Wellington yards publish their rates item by item on the website, which is the quickest way to cost a job before you ring anyone.
Which parts of Wellington do the hire yards cover?
The depots on this page are spread across the region rather than clustered in one place. Te Aro and Newtown cover the central city and the southern and eastern suburbs, including Karori, Island Bay and Miramar. Kenepuru and Waitangirua serve Porirua, Tawa and the Kapiti Coast, and Gracefield covers the Hutt Valley and the eastern bays. If you are hiring something heavy, the nearest yard matters more than it might seem, because transport is charged on distance.
Do I need a licence or a certificate to operate hired machinery?
It depends on the machine. Most tools and small plant can be hired by anyone who has been shown how to use them, but elevated work platforms such as scissor lifts and boom lifts require a trained and competent operator, and some sites will ask to see a current certificate before you go up. WorkSafe New Zealand sets out what is expected of anyone working at height in its working at height guidance. Several hire companies run the training themselves, so it is worth asking when you book.
Can I hire equipment for a few hours rather than a full day?
Yes, for a lot of the smaller gear. Four-hour or half-day rates are common on tools, sanders, breakers and compaction plates, which suits a job you can finish in a morning. Larger plant is more often written on a daily or weekly basis, partly because it has to be delivered and collected. If you only need a machine briefly, ask what the shortest priced period is when you book it.
Will the hire company deliver the equipment to my site?
Most will, and for anything you cannot safely tow or lift you should assume delivery is the sensible option. Delivery and pickup are charged separately from the hire itself and usually depend on how far the depot is from your site. Trailers, tools and light equipment are normally picked up by the customer, and a hire company will tell you what tow rating a trailer needs before it goes out.
What is the difference between hiring a machine and hiring one with an operator?
Hiring the machine on its own means you collect it or take delivery and run it yourself, and you are responsible for it for the length of the hire. Hiring with an operator is a contracting arrangement, where the earthworks or lifting company sends a machine and the person to run it, and charges for the work done rather than the days the machine is out. Equipment hire in Wellington usually refers to the first of those, and it is the cheaper option when you have someone competent to operate the gear.
Is hire equipment serviced and safety checked between hires?
A reputable hire company maintains its fleet on a set schedule and inspects gear when it comes back in, and several of the yards here clean and valet every item on its return. If you are hiring machinery you have not used before, ask for the operating instructions sheet and a walk through of the controls at the counter. WorkSafe New Zealand publishes general guidance on machinery safety that is worth a read before you take anything on site.
How We Chose the Best Equipment Hire in Wellington
Every business in this guide was found by searching for equipment hire in Wellington, then checked against its own website. Names, addresses and phone numbers are taken from the business’s own site rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what they publish themselves. We also check that each one is actually based in or genuinely serving Wellington, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business with no website of its own is not listed, because there is no primary source to verify it against.