In just 10 years, Hire Express have cemented their position as one of the standout performers in the Australian hire sector.
ASK HIRE EXPRESS FOUNDER Allen Besseling and CEO Andrew Lambert, about being named the 2026 Hire Company of the Year and winner of the People and Culture award and the answer is a mix of delight and pride.
“At the end of the day, our customers are the real markers of how our business is doing,” says Allen. “But to be recognised by the industry with not one but two awards is a great accolade and a thrill.”
Hire Express is a business that’s been built from the ground up. Allen, a former CEO of Kennards Hire, wanted to create a different style of hire business.
“What I enjoy most is building businesses,” he says, “so when this opportunity presented, I took a different approach to what I’d done previously, opting for a business model that was based on centralised distribution centres. This ensures equipment is accessible when and where it’s needed.”
It’s an approach that’s worked and 10 years on, Hire Express has grown to three branches located in Blacktown
and Seven Hills in NSW, and Perth, WA, and employs around 30 people. The business operates on a business-to-business wholesale model, servicing a broad mix of trade customers, tier one and two contractors, where specialised and unique assets are required.
It’s also a very customer centric business. “We say ‘yes’ when something needs to be done and we make it work for the customer,” says Allen.
One of the keys to their success is how they’ve enabled the Hire Express team by giving them autonomy and authorisation to make things happen. That means decisions can be made quickly with senior leaders often on the floor and accessible to the team and customers.
“We’re always in one of the branches,” says Andrew. “It’s not because we’re micromanaging the team, it’s that we love being part of the business. It’s an orientation to action that bleeds through to the rest of the business and as a result, the team just gets shit done.”
There’s little demarcation of duties onsite. Staff move fluidly between tasks, from phones and emails to loading/ unloading and yard work. Andrew recalls a recent visit from a supplier who was surprised to see Allen in the workshop sweeping the floor.
“No one is too good to clean the toilets or sign a cheque for a $100,000 bit of kit. You’ve just got to get the job done.”
As the business has grown, they’ve formalised their culture through a set of values, developed around 18 months ago in a facilitated team session. Those values are now embedded in recruitment, performance appraisals and development discussions.
“We wanted to pin our brand to values that weren’t motherhood statements but something real, tangible and relatable,” Allen explains.
“They’re a great tool that are really helping us across all aspects of the business.”
One factor highlighted in their People and Culture award was the company’s deep and ongoing involvement with Beyond Bitumen, a fundraising initiative supporting Beyond Blue and mental health.
Beyond Bitumen runs car rallies through regional New South Wales, bringing together around 100 cars — many of them older vehicles — over four days to raise money and awareness.
“We are delighted to be the major sponsor of Beyond Bitumen as the rally raises over $500,000 a year with 100 per cent of that money going directly to Beyond Blue,” says Allen. “We’re heavily involved, not just in name, but by attending the events and helping ensure it all happens.”
From a business perspective, one of their key values is a simple but powerful idea: a hunger to improve.
“Our ambition is to not sit idle but to have a hunger to improve,” says Andrew. “One part of that is the team wanting to improve the business, and the other part is the team wanting to improve themselves.”
“Culture is more important,” says Allen. “We can teach people to do physical tasks, but it’s hard to teach culture.”
Despite previously entering the HRIA’s excellence awards and being successful, this year’s double win comes after significant growth of the business.
The decision to enter again was deliberate as a way to benchmark themselves against the industry.
“As we’re now a larger organisation, we thought we’d take the opportunity to compare with our peers,” says Allen. “We did it to measure ourselves, for marketing purposes, and if we were successful, we’d be able to share that with our team and thank them for their contribution.”
Allen encourages other businesses to consider entering the Excellence Awards, not just for the outcome, but for the discipline of the submission process.
“It’s a healthy process because it gives you time to reflect on your business,” he says. “I you become a finalist or winner, you’ve also got the opportunity to market against that so why wouldn’t you put yourself out there and have a go?”
Andrew’s advice is to keep submissions genuine and simple, reflecting the real business rather than a polished facade.
“Don’t overcomplicate it,” he said. “We didn’t bring in auditors or accountants or graphic designers, we kept it real. When you sit down and go through what you’ve done, I guarantee you’ll be surprised how much you’ve achieved.”
With replicated trophies now on display across all three branches, Hire Express is looking to the future. Growth remains firmly on the agenda with more product, people and sites and continued investment in technology. Yet underpinning that ambition is the same culture that delivered their 2026 awards success: customer-centric, agile and always with the hunger to improve.
“Growing is exciting,” says Allen. “We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and keep improving. There’s a lot of scope and still so much to do.”