How would you summarise 2025?
In one word, exciting!
After a challenging year for some markets during 2024 we saw increased activity showing a start of recovery. For example, hire companies placed orders for new groundcare and construction equipment. And the off-highway electric vehicle market has continued with strong growth in 2025, with certain sectors developing quicker than others. However, changes in safety and environmental regulations and emissions reduction targets continue to drive technological advancements and new product development.
We diversified our products and service offering which has resulted in new partnerships with OEM’s. So, it has been great building these relationships and learning more about the products these companies are developing. In addition, we successfully supported customers with software development and delivered prototype systems which are now in the testing phase.
In-house, we focused on training and upskilling our workforce. Which saw various members of the team attend external training, and we also engaged with our partners for technical product training and marketing trends discussions. We welcome a new financial controller to the business, Victoria Wetherill, who has already contributed massively to the business. Victoria will be a great support with our plans for growth over the coming years.
It was a busy year for trade shows and conferences, meeting both customers and suppliers to further strengthen our place in the market and learn about new market trends and innovations.
We were proud supporters of MIND and participated in various team events to raise money for the charity. The Lancereal Padel team was formed, and we are looking forward to more games throughout 2026!
What’s been your biggest business highlight over the past 12 months?
This was our first year under new ownership, where we focused on refining our processes and introducing new workflows to the business – we also passed our ISO9001 recertification with flying colours!
But, if you can allow me more than one, another highlight has been seeing the direct results of our investments through the success of our customers.
We have worked with customers who are new to electrification and delivered complete solutions to get their prototype machines up and running. Sometimes products can be in the design phase for years, so we help a design become a reality and there’s often a lot of learning along the way which is always helpful for future projects.
In addition, highlights that will continue throughout 2026 will be developing the knowledge and skills of the Lancereal team and growing the team to bring in new experience and knowledge.
What industry changes or demands did you witness in 2025?
As we work across a broad number of industries, there are constant cycles of change that we need to keep abreast of. This can be driven by geopolitical factors, legislation change and general economic pressures.
Acquisitions and changes of ownership of component manufacturers are frequent and one to watch. In 2025, we saw Allision buy the Off-Highway division of Dana and Parker acquire Curtis Instruments. During change like this, it is important to maintain strong relationships with our suppliers to ensure that our customers remain unaffected by changes at a higher corporate level.
We ensure a steady stream of supply to our customers, ensuring production lines keep running and aftermarket demands are supported. During 2025 we increased our stock levels of components to ensure a continued high level of support to our customers.
In electrification, OEMs revealed fully battery-electric machines such as excavators, loaders and articulated haulers including larger machines, which are usually dominated by diesel engines. However, hybrid machines still dominated the market, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and mining.
For traditional engine driven equipment, such as compact construction machinery and groundcare, we saw a steady return of demands as the rental companies started to invest due to an increases in infrastructure spending.
What industry changes or advancements do you anticipate in 2026?
We anticipate that the drive towards electric and hybrid vehicles will continue as EU and UK emission policies continue to drive towards net zero targets.
The ongoing investments into battery technologies, high voltage chemistries, implementation of artificial intelligence and more sophisticated charging technologies will further support the adoption of electrification in the off-highway markets.
We will help our customers with the upgrade from the E-series Curtis controllers to the newer F-series controllers in order for them to meet modern industry and regulatory trends and enable greater system control capabilities.
2025 was a busy year for tradeshows, can you share any key takeaways from the events you attended?
Yes, it was great to see so much activity at the various events we attended.
LogiMat – The material handling sector continues to set the pace for vehicle electrification and the event clearly showcased more intelligent autonomous solutions for material handling. Attendance at the event cemented to us, why the material handling sector will continue to be a key market for us.
Bauma – It was noticeable how many more heavy-duty machinery were showcased, with a big focus on intelligent autonomous vehicles. It was great to see examples of the major construction OEM’s expanding their electric portfolios.
iVT conference and exhibition – Provided a great opportunity to see what advancements are being made in industrial vehicle technology. The market is moving at a fast pace and it was good to see innovative advances in the technologies.
AGRITECHNICA – The world’s leading trade fair for agricultural machinery, highlighted how the shift towards electrification comes at a slower pace in the sector. Fully electric vehicles are less common, particularly for the larger, high-power tractors and harvesters. Launches of agricultural equipment still lean towards hybrid systems due to power requirements and long operating hours.
Looking ahead, what will 2026 bring for Lancereal?
2026 has started well and we are positive and enthused about the year ahead. That being said, we can’t deny that there aren’t challenges due to the geopolitical events taking place in the world – everyone is affected in some way. However, challenges bring opportunities, and we will continue to do what we do best; building relationships with our customers and the supply chain, supporting engineers with product development and advancements and ensuring steady supply and technical support to our customers.
We want to attract machine manufacturers, both mature and start-ups, who are keen to develop their products. When we engage during machine concept stage the product development cycle can be a much smoother process and reduce time to market. So, if you have an idea to discuss please do get in touch.
Finally, we are excited about our debut appearance a Hillhead, the UK’s largest quarrying, construction, and recycling equipment exhibition which is happening in June. As we offer a wide range of drivetrain solutions to the mining sector we are looking forward to speaking with representatives from the industry and prospective customers alike.