Established in 1988, National Hire Group Limited is a publicly listed business that operates throughout Australia.

Through a merger undertaken in December 2004 the National Hire Group acquired Allight Holdings Pty Ltd and the assets of WesTrac's The Cat Rental Stores® in WA. The National Hire Group became one of the leading hire companies in Australia and a major manufacturer and distributor of Allight® de-watering equipment and FG Wilson power generation and Perkins engines.

In January 2008 Coates Group Holdings Pty Ltd, a company established by The Carlyle Group and National Hire Group Ltd, acquired the Coates Hire Limited business and the hire operations of National Hire were subsequently merged with those of Coates, making it the 6th largest hire firm in the world. National Hire has a 47% interest in the Coates Group.

National Hire continues to own the Allight business. The principal activities of the Allight business relate to the manufacture, assembly, sales and support of lighting, power generation and dewatering equipment and distribution and support of Perkins engines and F G Wilson power generation sets. The business operates under the Allight, FG Wilson, HJ Godwin and Perkins brand names.