Silver service: hire firm marks milestone year with custom-finished digger

PLANT hire specialist ASHBROOK is marking the firm’s 25th anniversary and raising money for charity after snapping up a custom-finished silver Cat 308 excavator.

Backed by a fundraiser for Cancer Research, the digger has been finished in silver by Finning to mark the milestone year. It will be adorned by the logos of suppliers who have donated a set amount to support the charity.

The machine is the 1,400^th Cat machine that ASHBROOK has bought from Finning over the years. The excavator has had its trademark yellow replaced with a one-off silver vinyl wrap.

The 25-year history of ASHBROOK began with MD James Ashbrook owning just one tractor. Today the firm boasts more than 500 Cat machines in its fleet.

Through its partnership with Finning, the company has been involved in several industry firsts including taking delivery of the UK’s first Cat 320 SLR, first next generation Cat 315 GC, and first Cat next generation 305 CR.

James Ashbrook said, “We wanted to do some good as part of our 25^th anniversary. Nearly everybody has been touched by cancer at some point and anything we can do to support or raise awareness is good. The idea is that our suppliers sponsor a logo on the machine with all the money going directly to the charity – and hopefully we will continue to add these throughout our anniversary year.

“The silver Cat 308 looks fantastic and will provide a lasting memory of the company’s success – and will no doubt be a talking point for our customers.”

The cab on the 308 will feature QR codes to take users directly to the just giving page and Cancer Research website.

Finning account manager Neil Baxter added, “We’ve been working with ASHBROOK since 2009, and as the account manager I’ve got to know James well. It is a pleasure to work with them and has been great to see how the company has grown so significantly – even today James still likes getting out on the machines and has that enjoyment of the industry. We delivered the 1.000^th Cat machine in 2019, and now this will be the 1,400^th, which is interesting in itself as Ashbrook were involved in the trial of the next generation 308.”