Gareth Jones has joined Dawsonrentals Vans as managing director with immediate effect, following two years as commercial director of Ainscough, the heavy crane operation.

Jones, 42, is returning to an environment he knows well. Prior to his Ainscough role he had spent 10 years in increasingly senior sales and marketing positions with Northgate Vehicle Hire and, at the time of leaving the company, had become its commercial director.

Dawsongroup is focusing increasingly on its van rental business, having recently brought the operation into line with its Dawsonrentals branding following an original launch as Hiregate Vehicle Rental.

The company has also recently opened a new, purpose-built, flagship branch for van rental operations in Milton Keynes.

Steve Miller, group managing director, said: “Gareth’s appointment and our decision to move to the Dawsonrentals brand are both parts of a carefully planned strategy for our already fast-growing presence in van rental.

"Our wider, well-proven abilities in rental over the past 40 years give us great confidence in this new approach, and Gareth’s skills and experience will help achieve our ambitions, which include a strong focus on growing the fleet size and developing new branches in key locations.

"We also see this as further strengthening the overall benefits we can deliver to Group customers across our other divisions.”