Plant Manager's Journal articles from January 2005

Plant Manager's Journal archives from January 2005

Are your views really wanted?(government abuses consultation)(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... Consultation is a word much used and abused by the government. After the single-drum roller debacle, when manufacturers were not consulted before their machines were outlawed from road reinstatement, one might have hoped lessons had been...

Government set to ban red diesel on highways.(FUEL DUTY)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The government is set to withdraw concessions allowing certain machines to use the highway while running on rebated (red) diesel. Under the terms of the proposal, mobile cranes, aerial platforms, road construction vehicles, snow...

Speedy on target for success.(Speedy Hire PLC.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Speedy Hire has reported a 23% increase in group turnover and said it is well on the way to achieving its initial target of 400 depots nationwide. Turnover for the six months to 30 September stood at [pounds sterling]98.9m up from [pounds...

JCB plans a heavy move.(JCB Excavators Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... JCB is planning to move its heavy products division from Uttoxeter town centre to a new out-of-town facility alongside the A50. A 50-acre plot next to JCB's World Parts Centre is the preferred site and a planning application will shortly be...

RMC enforces safety passport.(SAFETY)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... RMC has announced that from 1 April, contractors will not be allowed to work on any of its sites or quarries without a Safety Passport. Issued by Epic Training and supported by the Quarry Products Association, the passport offers...

Fastest risers steal market.(companies sales increased)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Brandon Hire and GAP are among the 108 UK plant hire firms that have increased sales by more than three times the national average during the past year. Averaging 28% annual growth, these companies are changing the face of the UK plant...

Material handlers at Hassell.(EH Hassell and Sons.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... EH Hassell and Sons has become the new UK distributor for Sennebogen's range of material handlers. The company has been distributing Sennebogen cranes for more than six years.

Survey to sell Spectra range.(Trimble contracts with Survey Supplies.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Trimble has appointed Survey Supplies as the UK's premier dealer for its Spectra Precision Laser range. The distributor has II depots throughout the UK and will be the first point of contact for new and existing customers.

Mastclimbers wins award.(in brief)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Access solution supplier Mastclimbers won an Inner City 100 award for the fourth successive year. The awards recognise fast growing, socially and environmentally responsible, and entrepreneurial-driven inner city companies.

Selwood opens new branches.(Selwood Group.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Selwood has opened new branches in Douglas, Isle of Man, and Aberdeen bringing its total to 33. Around [pounds sterling]1m-worth of plant (telehandlers, mini excavators, rollers, compressors, dumpers and pumps) has been put into the new...

Construction workers facing pensions crisis.(PENSIONS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Age Concern has warned that thousands of construction workers face spending their retirement years below the breadline. Research carried out by the charity shows that 60% of construction workers don't have access to a pension at work, and...

Steinweg production restructure.(MANUFACTURING)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... German construction hoist and lift manufacturer Steinweg is restructuring operations as its domestic market remains stagnant. Most of the company's output is destined for the domestic market, including several models tailored to the German...

Four out of five divisions do the business for Vp.(RENTAL RESULTS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Equipment rental specialist Vp enjoyed strong performances from four of its five divisions in the six months ending 30 September. Only the tool hire business, Hire Station, bucked the positive trend. The company said the results were in...

UK plant hire share prices 2003/04.(NEWS)(Illustration)
January 1, 2005... UK PLANT HIRE SHARE PRICES 2003/04 PMJ gives the lowdown on share prices for 7 of the industry's leading quoted companies Company Price (p) in Price (p) in Price (p) Price (p) Dec 2004 Nov 2004 ...

Lavendon to close down 24 depots.(ACCESS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Lavendon Group has announced a major restructuring programme of its German access equipment hire operation, resulting in the closure of 24 depots and 100 staff redundancies. The company said its operations in Germany and Austria were...

Bell rings up first UK excavator sales.(EXCAVATORS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Bell has sold its first two branded excavators in the UK--a 14t and a 21t machine. The South African ADT manufacturer currently has 16 of the South Korean-made excavators in stock, as well as a UK demonstration fleet of five machines (14t,...

Skyking adds German model.(ACCESS)(WT 450 added to its product list)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Skyking, the recently appointed sole UK distributor for the Wumag aerial work platform range, has added another of the German-made machines to its available product range. The WT 450 is said to be suitable for an 18t chassis, has a maximum...

Ritchies' new rig goes remote.(Atlas Copco D7RRC )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Ritchies, the specialist geotechnical division of Edmund Nuttall, has added a radio remote-controlled quarry-drilling rig to its fleet. The new Atlas Copco D7RRC is the first of its type in the country and will be used on contracts where...

GB & E rolls out its Mill Crusher.(General Bridge and Engineering.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... General Bridge & Engineering of Peterborough, the UK importer of the Schober range of equipment, has launched a new asphalt granulator. The German-made machine is said to be able to recycle waste into granules that can then be reused in...

TT UK provides sewage solution.(TRENCHLESS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... TT UK has assisted Stockton Drilling of Wakefield with a project to install a sewer effluent outfall pipeline from a new pumping station into the Severn Estuary, adjacent to the 'old' Severn Bridge. Stockton had to turn the 400mm PE pipe...

Ainscough welcomes Liebherrs.(CRANES)(Ainscough Crane Hire, Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... As part of a 38-crane, [pounds sterling]12m package Ainscough Crane Hire has taken delivery of the initial Liebherr LTM 1055-3 mobile crane. The order includes 30 of the 55t 1055s--which represents Liebherr's largest single-model order by a...

Nationwide Access.(KIT)(Billington Structures Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... ON THE ROOF: Nationwide Access has supplied two Teupen Leo30 telescopic booms to Billington Structures for its roofing contract at the Robin Hood Doncaster/Sheffield Airport terminal building. Roof beams are being lifted in to place by an...

Lloyd wraps up bumper year.(EXCAVATORS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... After signing a contract with Northern Plant Supplies of Newcastle for a batch of Fiat Kobelco and New Holland machines, CNH dealer Lloyd delivered more than 200 units last year. Managing director Barry Lloyd said: "The marker in our...

JCBs work out in Venezuela.(excavators at gold mine)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Ten of JCB's largest machines are working in a Venezuelan gold mine. Two JS460 excavators are removing 8,000t of soil a day from an opencast mine, 800 miles south-east of Caracas and more than five and a half hours drive from the nearest...

One Call opts for HM Plant.(One Call Hired.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Enfield-based One Call Hire has ordered [pounds sterling]4.5m-worth of new equipment from HM Plant. The deal includes Hitachi excavators ranging in size from 1.6t up to 30t.

HE scores 1,500 with JCB.(HE Services buys from JCB Materials Handling Ltd)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... HE Services has taken delivery of its 1,500th JCB machine. Since 1972, the company has purchased approximately 700 JCB backhoe loaders, 150 loadall handlers and 50 skid steers.

Power goes for Genpac.(Power Electrics buys generators from Sandhurst Manufacturing.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Power Electrics has ordered 140 Genpac Powermaster generators from Sandhurst Manufacturing. The deal, worth more than [pounds sterling]1.5m, includes machines with outputs of 22kVA, 50kVA, 70,kVA 150kVA, 250kVA and 500kVA.

Severnside goes virtual.(KIT NEWS in brief)(Severnside Safety Supplies Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Severnside Safety Supplies has launched an online shop for safety equipment and personal protective wear. The address is: www.sevsafe.co.uk.

Versalift production goes up.(KIT NEWS in brief)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Versalift, the vehicle-mounted platform specialist, has expanded production at its Burton Latimer facility near Kettering. The company said strong growth, particularly in telecoms, prompted the expansion.

Bravo pumps from Grindex.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A new range of Grindex slurry pumps for mining and construction applications is now available. The Bravo submersible pumps have capacities from 30 to 130 litres per second.

MT Kaill signs up for Volvos.(17 Volvo compact excavators from PPS Construction Plant sales.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Stockport-based MT Kaill has purchased 17 Volvo compact excavators from local dealer PPS Construction Plant Sales. The order consists of 10, 2.5t EC25s, two 1.5t EC15s and five 5.5t EC55Bs.

Liebherr for Kane.(Kane Haulage and GJ Gaywood bought Liebherr machines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Kane Haulage and subsidiary GJ Gaywood has taken delivery of 13 Liebherr machines. Kane has bought four excavators, two loading shovels and a dozer, while Gaywood has taken six excavators.

Daf leads boom in UK truck market.(TRUCK SALES)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The UK truck market is likely to total more than 56,500 units in 2004 (the seventh consecutive year over 51,000) and can be considered a consistent and stable market, according to DafTrucks' managing director Stuart Hunt. "The track record...

40 years of the Transit.(PANEL VANS)(Ford)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Ford is set to celebrate 40 years of the Transit with a number of special editions in both the standard Transit and the Connect ranges. Ford said the Transit has been market leader in each of those 40 years and remains so in both the 1t and...

Driver training at RMC brings [pounds sterling]330,000 saving.(TRAINING)(RMC's UK cement division)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In the past year, driver training at RMC's UK cement division has seen fuel efficiency of its 154 strong truck fleet improve by more than 7%--equivalent to a saving of [pounds sterling]332,000. The company's 300 drivers under-took a programme...

CV sales set to reach all-time high in 2004.(COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SALES)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... November registration figures show commercial vehicle sales are still on track for a record in 2004. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, there were 33,600 trucks and light commercials registered in November-an 11.7%...

Kestral adds Dafs.(in brief)
January 1, 2005... Bristol-based Kestrel Powered Access has expanded its fleet with three new Daf rigids with Andover Trailer plant bodies. The units, comprising two 18t 4X2s and one 26t 6X2, will be used to transport access equipment.

Johnston's air-quality award.(in brief)(Sweepers award)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Johnston Sweepers has been awarded AQMD PM10, a US air-quality standard, which limits the size of dust partides emitted from street sweepers to 10 microns. It claims to be the only European sweeper manufacturer to gain the certificate.

Isuzu cuts cab prices.(in brief)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Isuzu has cut the price of its single cab Rodeo 2.5 DT 4X2 pick-up to [pounds sterling]8,995, the double cab to [pounds sterling]9,495, and the 4X4 single cab 3.0 DT to [pounds sterling]11,750. All have 12,000 mile service intervals and the 3.0...

Indespension's trailer sales.(in brief)(Trailers sales)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Indespension has supplied A-Plant with 150 new trailers for equipment transportation. The order includes the latest AD1150 single axle units, as well as AD2000 twin axle trailers.

Skills Centre at NEC show.(in brief)(Automotive Trade Show)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Next year's CV and Automotive Trade Show (5-7 April 2005 at the NEC) will host a Skills Centre. Visitors will be able to find information on careers across the road transport and commercial vehicle sector, as well as ways into the industry.

Call for quality standards.(in brief)(Automobile industry)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders' body builder members are calling for clear quality standards ahead of the Whole Vehicle Type Approval regulations expected in four or five years. The Society said the regulations can cause big...

The secret of successful selling: when a piece of equipment has served its purpose for hire businesses, they sell it. But how do you get the best price, what's the fastest method? Colin Sowman finds out.(SELLING USED EQUIPMENT)
January 1, 2005... Selling used kit is a crucial part of the plant hire business. If a machine fails to reach its expected residual value then the figures on which the hire rates were set while the machine was in the fleet do not stack up. Three years of...

We have the technology: PMJ examines the expanding software market and looks at some of the latest technology available to the plant hire industry.(COMPUTERS)(Plant Manager's Journal, Higher Concept Software, Ibcos)
January 1, 2005... The number of computer programmes specifically tailored for the plant and tool hire industry is enormous. From packages designed to keep tabs on stock availability to damage control, and from distribution to simple warehousing, there has never...

Pumped up for action: Pochin is one of the leading lights in a thriving concrete plant market. Martin Cooper pays a visit to its headquarters.(HIRE VIEW)(Putzmeister Pumi pumps)
January 1, 2005... A company hiring mobile concrete pumps is certainly involved in a niche sector within the rental industry. The equipment is considered far too sophisticated for non-operated hire and most plant hire firms steer well clear of a machine they have...

A booming success: the articulated booms market is flourishing, with an array of machines designed to meet almost any purpose. Paul Howard takes a look at current trends and availability.(EQUIPMENT FOCUS: ARTICULATED BOOMS)
January 1, 2005... The most noticeable aspect of the articulated booms market--in any height range, but in particular from 14m to 16m--is the sheer number and variety of models on offer. From self-propelled machines, to vehicle mounts, from crawler chassis,...

The rating game: John Davies examines the effects of the new round of rate revaluations on business and how to appeal against the new figure.(BUSINESS)
January 1, 2005... All small firms need to be aware of the significant changes currently afoot in the rules governing local taxation of small businesses. Many readers will by now have received from the Inland Revenue's Valuation Office Agency (VOA) a notice...

Get in the Truck Zone: SED 2005 will once again feature the Truck Zone, and many of the industry's big names will be there showing off their latest models.(SED 2005)
January 1, 2005... Road transport is big business--and the construction industry needs commercial vehicles to move plant, materials and people. SED's Truck Zone, now in its fourth year, is hosted by PMJ's sister magazine Commercial Motor and there's no better...

Panther saves Batman.(CHECKOUT)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Kapow! Panther Platform Rentals was called upon recently to demonstrate its flexibility by rescuing a lone Fathers 4 Justice protester dressed as Batman from a ledge at Buckingham Palace. Two of the company's self-propelled articulated...

GAP gives free hire.(CHECKOUT)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The GAP Group said it went one step further at the recent Lighthouse Club Christmas Lunch by offering a years hire of a new Kubota 1.5t excavator and a Terex Benford 6t dumper. With all proceeds going to the Lighthouse Club's Benevolent...

In the picture: win [pounds sterling]50.(CHECKOUT)
January 1, 2005... We tried and succeeded in making last month's competition a little more obscure. Consequently, only five correct answers arrived at the PMJ office. The winner was R Gibson of ACR Plant Hire in Stockton-on-Tees, who correctly identified the...

Land Rover challenge breaks new ground.(CHECKOUT)(car racing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Land Rover G4 Challenge recce team is said to be breaking new ground every day, having already covered more than 10,000 miles of remote terrain in Asia. Trekking from Thailand to the Vietnamese border, taking in Cambodia and Laos, the...

Events Diary.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... 2005 JANUARY 26-27 Hire Show Excel Centre Docklands, London Tel: 0845 127 6113 MARCH 1-5 Smopyc 2005 Feria de Zaragoza Zaragoza, Spain Tel: +34 976 764 700 www.feriazaragoza.com MARCH...