FLANNERY Plant Hire has become the first plant hire company to place an order for the newly launched Xwatch MK2.
MD Patrick Flannery and Dan Leaney, sales director at Xwatch Safety Solutions, finalised the agreement on the Hexagon stand at bauma 2025.
Flannery was the first major plant hire business to support Xwatch when it launched in July 2019 and has since installed close to 400 XW4 and XW5 safety systems across its fleet.
As part of a wider £100 million machinery investment through Caterpillar, JCB and Komatsu, Flannery has placed an order for 200 new excavators and committed to installing the new MK2 XW5 systems across a range of them. Some units will also be fitted with the Leica 3D collision avoidance system, developed jointly by Leica Geosystems and Xwatch —both part of Hexagon.
The MK2 is described as Xwatch’s fastest and smartest system yet. It is 30% quicker to install, with a ‘simplified’ design that retains all the safety features of the original MK1 – including height and slew restriction, RCI, and full compatibility across the XW1 to XW5 range. The system is more compact, with precision proportional motion control, a multilingual interface, and telematics readiness built in.
MK2 is also said to be the first system of its kind to be PLd-rated for the civils market, offering improved integration via the Xwatch Safety Gateway and fewer in-cab components.
Dan Leaney said, “Flannery has been a key partner from day one – always pushing to raise the bar regarding safety and machine technology. It means a lot that they’re the first to commit to the MK2. This system is a leap forward, and Flannery shows real leadership by putting it to work straight out of the gate.”
Patrick Flannery added, “We’ve built our business on safety, innovation, and relationships that last. Investing in the MK2 is a natural step for us, and continuing to work with Dan and the team at Xwatch means we’re getting the very latest tech – backed by a team that knows our industry inside out.”
