BLACKWOOD PLANT HIRE’S STUNNING BILLY CONNOLLY-THEMED SCANIA T-CAB TURNS HEADS WHEREVER IT GOES, AS IT DELIVERS PLANT AND MACHINERY AROUND THE UK. BUT THAT'S NOT THE ONLY REASON THIS BUSINESS IS ONE TO WATCH.
There are many airbrushed trucks out on the UK’s roads and while they are always a treat to see, they do create a certain problem for other operators that want to airbrush their truck – finding a subject that hasn’t already been done by someone else.
This was the dilemma facing Paul McCormack, MD of Kilmarnock-based Blackwood Plant Hire last year. He had acquired a Scania T-cab – already a head-turner – and wanted to do something special with it. But what?
“My business partner Allan Wilson and I were struggling for ideas,” he admits. “We wanted to do something unique, but it seemed like everything had already been done. We thought about Transformers and Optimus Prime, but that had been done, and there were various others we considered, but there were always examples out there.”
PILING SPECIALIST PRODRIVE RUNS A FLEET OF THREE HEAVY TRUCKS TO TRANSPORT ITS PILES AND THE EQUIPMENT REQUIRED TO DRIVE THEM INTO THE GROUND AROUND THE UK AND IRELAND.
ProDrive, based in Omagh, County Tyrone, was founded in 2007 by Damien McCaffrey, who had already built extensive experience in the construction and civil engineering sector. With him since the start has been driver Shane, who currently drives a Volvo FH 500 TC. Shane is one of three drivers at the company, along with Joe, who drives an FH16 750, and Paul, who’s in a Scania S530. The firm also runs an MAN rigid for the mini-piling side of the operation, which is ideal for domestic or urban locations where space is a factor.
Concrete or steel tube piles are driven into the ground to provide a stable base for buildings, and ProDrive specialises in piling and foundation solutions. It manufactures and supplies pre-cast concrete pilings and ground beams, delivering them and the necessary piling equipment to sites all over the UK and Ireland. The company tackles everything from a cottage in the countryside to large newbuild housing estates; infrastructure projects, such as bridges; and massive warehouses, which have become an increasingly common sight adjacent to motorway networks in recent years.
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SPECIALIST TRANSPORT, HEAVY LIFT AND INSTALLATION SERVICES PROVIDER ALLELYS HAS BEEN EXPANDING FAST IN RECENT TIMES, NOT LEAST BECAUSE OF ALL THE RENEWAL WORK IN THE UK'S POWER GENERATION SECTOR.
Much of the UK’s infrastructure is in desperate need of renewal, and not all of it is getting the investment it requires. One area that is undergoing considerable renewal and expansion, however, is the national electricity distribution network. Quite a bit of the UK’s National Grid is no longer really fit for purpose; hence the need for such heavy investment. And apart from the age of the network, one of the key drivers for this investment is the move to new forms of power generation, as coal and other types of power stations are gradually phased out and new forms of electricity generation come on stream which need to be connected. This, in turn, means creating new power network connections in certain areas and big upgrades to the capacity and efficiency of existing connections in other places.
On top of this, many parts of the existing network are undergoing major upgrades in cities and other urban areas, as demand for power increases, straining older equipment. Replacing or upgrading that equipment, of course, can create major logistical challenges for transport and heavy-lift teams.
WE TAKE A RENAULT C520 EVOLUTION 6x4 OUT ON SOME MODERATELY WEIGHTY WORK TO SEE HOW WELL SUITED IT IS TO THE HEAVY HAULAGE SECTOR.
Renault has had a limited presence in the UK heavy transport sector in recent years, although in other markets it offers a range of heavy-duty 6×4 and 6×6 tractor units suitable for use at 100-plus tonnes GCW. Renault and its constituent companies, notably Berliet, have built many heavy-duty tractors and rigids capable of operation at more than 150 tonnes GCW over the years, in fact, including a small number of R series 6×4 tractors plated at 90-120 tonnes sold by Renault in the UK market in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Although the UK operation has moved away from offering higher rated 6×4 tractor units since then, Renault’s Range C models include multi-axle rigids and tractors primarily aimed at the construction, waste disposal and timber haulage sectors, with some of the tractor units rated at up to 80 tonnes GCW. And when Renault offered us a chance to try out a well-specified C520 Evolution 6×4 13L tractor unit plated for that weight, we jumped at the chance.
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RYDAM UNIVERSAL LIKES TO PROVIDE THE RIGHT KIT FOR THE JOB, WHETHER THAT INVOLVES A FAYMONVILLE TRAILER, FALKOM RECOVERY EQUIPMENT, SAF-HOLLAND AXLES, SUSPENSIONS AND FIFTH WHEELS, OR ALTEC ALUMINIUM RAMPS.
Leeds-based company Rydam Universal is the official UK parts and service agent for Faymonville Trailers in the UK, and has been involved with the Belgian trailer manufacturer almost since Rydam MD John Green and fellow director Adam Green first entered this market. ‘Rydam’ is derived from the names of John and wife Jackie’s two sons, Ryan and Adam. The company is also the UK agent for Dutch-built Falkom recovery equipment, offering everything from a slide-bed rigid for transporting cars to the heaviest rotating recovery cranes with multiple winches, hydraulic support legs and other features. The range of Faymonville specialist trailers has expanded dramatically in the last 20 years, as has their penetration in transport fleets, and Rydam has invested accordingly, expanding and adapting its support services. The team at Leeds has a thorough understanding of the product range and the technical aspects of each model, including those aimed at relatively new sectors of the specialist transport market, such as wind energy.
AS THE VOLVO FH16 750 GIVES WAY TO THE NEW 17-LITRE FH16 780, WE LOOK AT ONE OF THE LAST HEAVY-HAULAGE 750S TO BE DELIVERED IN THE UK AND FINDS OUT WHY ITS DRIVER LOVES IT SO MUCH.
The famous 16-litre Volvo straight-six engine, first seen in the F16 in 1987, moved into the FH in 1993 and steadily increased in torque, horsepower and economy until 2024 when production finally ended. But fear not, big power Volvo fans – the new 17-litre FH16 780 has replaced it. Despite this, there were still plenty of nifty 750s to hit the road during the latter part of last year, including this one at Demolition Services, based in Leeds. The FH16 is much loved in the construction industry. No matter whether you’re quarrying, road building, knocking stuff down or erecting it, all the machines required have to get to and from the site. It’s getting harder to organise, with all the bureaucracy associated with oversized loads. But the trucks keep getting better to drive. The forces at play are immense, as the power from each stroke of the piston turns the crank which turns the gears, transmitting the power to the diff, half shafts, wheels and road, all controlled from the supreme comfort of a heated and cooled leather-trimmed captain’s chair, with the short lever on the side of the seat for selecting the auto drive modes or manual mode.
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LONG-ESTABLISHED SHEFFIELD HAULIER H ASKEY TRANSPORT HAS SEEN QUITE A FEW CHANGES IN ITS FLEET SINCE WE LAST VISITED THE COMPANY IN 2022, AS WE FIND OUT WHEN WE VISIT THE FIRM'S DINNINGTON HEADQUARTERS.
H Askey Transport originally started out with horses at the latter end of the 19th century before embracing the internal combustion engine when it came along, and these days runs a well turned-out fleet that includes some of the latest models from various manufacturers. Director Rob Askey, who is part of the fifth generation of family to be involved in the business, has overseen many big changes in the operation since taking over from his late father Alan. The demise of many of the core heavy industries that used to be prevalent in the area has had a dramatic effect on many hauliers there, but fortunately, Askey began seeking out new market sectors and diversifying more than 40 years ago, and has continued to do so. One early move in 1979, for instance, was when the first vehicle fitted with a crane entered service, a 16-ton DAF 2100 rigid with a Hiab 650 mounted behind the cab – quite a radical departure back then and the first DAF to enter service in a fleet dominated at the time by Leyland and other traditional British makes.
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