British rental company AFI-Uplift recently acquired Central Access Ltd., an aerial rental company based in Nottinghamshire. The deal comes weeks after Hull, England-based AFI-Uplift acquired North East Access Ltd.

With a fleet of 140 boom and scissorlifts operating from a location in Newstead, near Nottingham, Central Access, a company formed in 1998, has a strong local customer base, AFI-Uplift officials said.

“This acquisition will significantly strengthen our operations in the East Midlands, and, as a result, will further boost our national depot network, which now has over 4,300 machines,” said AFI corporate development director Nick Selley. “Once again it demonstrates how we are able to move quickly and decisively when opportunities arise to expand our business. Existing AFI customers will gain from our now having a stronger presence in the East Midlands, and Central Access customers will benefit from having access to our national depot network and one of the most modern powered access rental fleets in the U.K.”

AFI merged with Uplift Power Platforms in 2006. The combined companies later acquired Alan Drew Limited.

AFI-Uplift’s 2007 volume will exceed £30 million (more than U.S. $60 million), compared with about £20 million in 2006. The company’s current depot network includes Birmingham, East Midlands, Haydock, Hull, Liverpool, London East, South and West, Manchester, Milton Keynes, North East, Peterborough, Scotland, South Wales, South West, Southampton and Wakefield.