ECA Toolfast enhances its profile with Volvo

Coventry based ECA Toolfast has taken delivery of its first Volvo EC15BXR compact excavator with a further two units on order as it expands its equipment portfolio.

Established in 1979, ECA Toolfast has developed its core business for the sales, hire and authorized repairs for premium quality small tools. With fully equipped and stocked outlets in Coventry and Leicester, the company moved into small plant hire five years ago with the appointment of Hire Manager, Dean Whitehouse. Wishing to further enhance and develop its hire division, ECA Toolfast has switched to Volvo to complement the high quality range of power tools it markets. “It was the approach by SM Plant Sales in demonstrating the qualities of the Volvo mini that persuaded us to make the change,” commented Mr Whitehouse. “Since taking the first machine last month, we’ve been really impressed with the quality of build and the machine’s performance, with customers asking to hire it again out of preference. We’ve subsequently ordered two more units for the fleet.”

As with all Volvo construction equipment, the compact excavator line develops impressive levels of performance and technological advances. This includes a variable flow power control hydraulic system for precise control under all load conditions and safety features such as Roll Over Protection Structure (ROPS), Tip Over Protection Structure (TOPS) and Falling Objects protection Structure (FOPS) contribute to outstanding operator safety.
All components and service points are within easy reach on the EC15BXR. For instance, the Volvo patented tilting counterweight allows easy access to the engine. The one-piece cab floor makes it easy to reach the spool valves while the hoses supplying the boom are fitted externally along the boom, keeping all connections within easy reach.

Exsel Plant & Tool Hire Choose Kubota

When Roger Pearce set up his one-man plant hire business in April 2004, customers were offered a single piece of equipment; a Kubota mini excavator. Three years on, Exsel Plant & Tool Hire has taken delivery of its 15th Kubota, a 2.8 tonne KX61-3, the latest model in its growing mini fleet - without the necessity for any warranty claims during this period.

Starting with £5,000 in his pocket, Roger Pearce has built up the Bishops Waltham, Southampton, company into a highly successful hire operation. In addition to Kubota minis it offers dumpers as well as a wide range of tools. The go-ahead plant hirer has ploughed all the profits back into the business, spending over £300,000 on plant and tools without the need of external finance.

At 2.8 tonne the KX61-3 becomes the largest machine in his all-Kubota mini fleet, which up to now consisted of a mix of 800kg K008-3 and 1.5 tonne KX36-3 models. The KX61-3 has a 4270 mm long arm fitted as standard to provide a maximum digging force of 14.7 kN (1500 kgf). The digging force of the bucket is 21.5 kN (2190 kgf).

Like all the models in Kubota's popular KX Series it has advanced hydraulic systems to improve its response and reduce energy wastage and can outperform larger and more costly competitive machines. It features an ergonomically designed control lever layout for smoother operation with reduced driver fatigue. It was supplied, like all the other minis, by Kubota dealer Grant Plant (Maidenhead) Ltd., equipped with 12", 18" and 24" diameter standard buckets plus a 48" diameter grading bucket.

Roger Pearce outlined the reasons for sticking with Kubota and not mixing and matching his mini fleet, despite checking out other makes. "They are reliable machines - I have had no warranty claims at all in three years - they are ruggedly built to withstand an often tough working environment; are easy to operate; and have modern styling with good clean lines, which customers like."

He said that the unique Kubota 'ANTI-THEFT' security system, the first and still the only one of its kind fitted as standard equipment by a mini excavator manufacturer, was an added bonus. "It has saved me from having machines stolen while they were out on hire a couple of times."

The KX61-3 was delivered by Grant Plant to a site in Maidenhead where BSP Project Developments Ltd, which is building 12 luxury apartments, immediately put it to work.
Said Grant Plant's Andy Grant: "Roger Pearce is a hard worker who has built up a profitable business after starting out on his own. We are pleased that together with Kubota we have helped contribute to his well-earned success."

GT Trax Expand Into Trenchlink

Hertfordshire based, ground protection rental specialists, GT Trax has invested in an initial order for new Trenchlink product. The order for a ‘substantial quantity’ of the interlocking ductile iron mini road plates was placed with the UK distributor of Trenchlink – GenSet plc – at the recent Executive Hire Show.

Trenchlink is approved for use by the National Grid and it enables a road contractor to quickly and safely secure a trench for immediate passage of vehicles or pedestrians. It features an integrated, anti-slip surface that fully secures an open trench. When the task is complete the plates are swiftly removed and stored so that the trench can be prepared for permanent reinstatement.

“The Trenchlink is a perfect partner to our range of ground protection products,” explained the GT Trax commercial director, Graham Crisp. “Although our current products are perfect for protecting ground from pedestrian and vehicular traffic, we often get asked to supply plates that will allow contractors to drive across trenches. The Trenchlink will fill this gap in our hire fleet,” added Mr. Crisp.

GT Trax has been supplying a range of temporary trackway and walkways to the UK construction and events industries since 2005. Users of GT Trax equipment encompass major civil engineering contractors to organisers of outside events.

Hire Station Choose Armorgard Security Products

Armorgard is Hire Station’s approved supplier of secure storage vaults and delivers storage solutions to its network of 87 branches nationwide. The hire chain is dedicated to the rapid supply of high quality tools, small equipment and allied services to customers.

The storage vaults are constructed of 2mm steel with a 3mm thick steel lid and are available in a number of sizes. They feature robust 5 lever deadlocks with heavy duty brass keys, gas struts and ultra robust hinges. Welded serial numbers on each box aid overnight replacement e boxof lost or damaged keys. Thes are delivered branded in Hire Station’s own colours and labels ready for immediate use.

Armorgard consider its boxes an investment in tool security and provide an excellent aftercare service, ensuring vaults stay in top condition for Hire Station customers. Orders on standard products and replacement parts from the branches are processed same day and delivered the next.

Paul Smith from Hire Station, commented:
‘Their excellent product quality and prompt after-sale service ensures that they remain our number 1 choice. I have no hesitation in recommending Armorgard’s solution to site security.’

A-PLANT POWER ALLOWS PUBLIC TO LIGHT UP YORK MINSTER IN FANTASTIC INTERACTIVE LIGHT SHOW

A 70 kVA generator hired from the A-Plant Power Generation and Welding depot at Barton in Humberside has provided temporary power for the stunning Evoke interactive light projection installation on the western façade of the York Minster cathedral in historic York. The Evoke display was part of the Illuminating York 2007 festival which attracted thousands of visitors and residents alike to the centre of York. Illuminating York provided a new side to the city after dark with cutting edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient walled city’s many special places.

Evoke is a new ground-breaking interactive installation by artist Usman Haque. Members of the public were able to use their own voices to create colourful light patterns that emerged from the cathedral’s foundations, before soaring upwards towards the night sky. Designed to resemble electricity, rapidly growing roots or electronic marbles, the graphically animated colours are determined by the particular voice characteristics of each person using the microphone. Once initiated, the light pattern would skim the surface of the Minster, wrapping round and illuminating different features and crevices of the building, disappearing through windows and then emerging finally near the top of the façade to provide a sparkling effect high above the enthralled audience below.

The A-Plant generator and a 2000 litre fuel tank were hired and installed on behalf of the local authority by Brian Wilton, who runs Brilite Limited, the electrical contracting business based at nearby Tadcaster. Brilite regularly supports A-Plant, installing the company’s generators hired for temporary electrical installations for construction sites, providing power for all types of equipment from tower cranes, lifts and hoists to accommodation units.

Brian said: “We are a business primarily dedicated to site power applications working closely with suppliers such as A-Plant. Together with A-Plant, we were delighted again to be involved in the spectacular light show in York as it is one of only two public events we do in the year. The Evoke display was very exciting and a fitting centrepiece for the Festival.”

To meet emergency requirements, A-Plant Power Generation and Welding, part of A-Plant Specialist Products, offers a complete range of generating sets from the smallest 10kVA diesel set through to the largest 1250kVA model. All A-Plant generators incorporate the latest engines from leading manufacturers such as GenSet, with many industry leading developments built into the machines as standard, including low oil Murphy switches to protect the engine, long running oil filtration systems to reduce customer disruption, with the added bonus of the units being amongst the quietest in the industry. A-Plant has a network of Power Generation depots across Britain, many of which are in coastal locations, such as Aberdeen, Stockton-on-Tees, Lowestoft and Newport, with other locations at Glasgow, Manchester, London, Hull and the Midlands.