SURREY, England — Steve Shaughnessy, former CEO of Shaughnessy Equipment and chief operating officer of NES Rentals, has accepted a position in the United Kingdom with Ashtead Plant Hire, parent company of Sunbelt Rentals. Shaughnessy, whose primary background was in the aerial rental industry, will be overseeing Ashtead's powered access division throughout the U.K.

Shaughnessy grew up in the equipment business, helping in the Boston-based family-owned distribution business and later going on to lead that organization until it was acquired by National Equipment Services in the late 1990s. Shaughnessy was a regional vice president and later COO for NES.

Ashtead, which trades as A-Plant, is a multi-faceted company with more than 220 U.K. locations. It operates general tool and equipment rental and a number of specialty divisions including powered access, power generation/welding, pumps, mobile storage, and traffic management and safety.