Mike Hamblin passes hire business to Laura Stiler and Brendon Manson

Mike Hamblin said he was "rapt" to sell the Albury business to Thurgoona family Laura Stiler and Brendon Manson today.

"They'll be fantastic and I'm ready to go," he said.

Mr Hamblin and his wife plan to travel and see family more now after the sale.

"It's been a real journey from where we started," he said.

"My Dad started with very very little equipment, very little capital, and we've slowly built it up over the last 45 years, so very proud of that."

Hamblin Hire was initially located at the Albury airport and called Airport Handy Hire, but in 1979 Mr Hamblin senior hired some land off The Rock Yard and then in 1986 the Hamblin family built the business's current Drome Street premises.

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Mr Hamblin said the business grew slowly.

"Just by adding new equipment and paying our bills on time and as we could afford it," he said.

"Someone said to me one day 'it must be a hard business to run' and I said 'well it isn't really, all you need is two main things: good equipment and good service'.

"We used to concentrate heavily on smaller equipment and then we started getting into bigger stuff and that's probably where a lot of the future is, but there's all sorts of opportunities out there."

Mr Hamblin said the most popular hire item was scissor lifts on trailers, with up to 20 a day typically hired.

He said technology and equipment had changed a lot over his 45 years in business.

"Everything that was mechanical is now electronic," he said.

"With the advent of television shows, gardening shows and everything, everyone loves their gardens and spring time is crazy, we have lots of guys and their partners and lots and lots of women hiring now which is fantastic, so it has changed."

New owner Laura Stiler said she was excited to take on the business, which would continue trade under the well known Hamblin name.

Ms Stiler said she wanted to make the business more accessible.

"So that the people who know absolutely nothing feel comfortable to walk through the door," she said.

"I think places like this have the persona that you have to be a tradie to use it and I want to take that persona away from it.

"I've had women come in so far, maybe half a dozen since I've been here for three weeks, and they are the ones who have seen something on TV and they want to renovate their bathrooms and things like that and they come in and ask exactly that, so I want to make more women, and men, more comfortable to come in and ask how to do things."

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