Staying safe while working at height in poor weather
Matthew Bailey, divisional manager for inspection and certification at HCL Safety, explores what those working at height, and those responsible for their safety, need...
Processing on the move
The first models in a range of crushing and screening buckets from ALLU promise dramatic cost savings in soft rock mining
GAME-changing technology seems a...
Getting to know…Heath Davies
HEATH Davies is general manager of Mecalac Construction Equipment UK. The firm has added a number of new products to its portfolio over the...
Getting to know Alistair Hodge
Alistair Hodge founded Hodge Plant 30 years ago with just one machine. Today the business has a substantial fleet of premium equipment for sale...
Getting to know…Stephen Grieve
NINE years ago Stephen Grieve sold his car for £5000 and invested the money in spare parts for the construction industry. The rest, as...
Getting to know…Greg Paterson
KIRKCALDY-headquartered Astrak UK has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the leading suppliers of undercarriage and wear parts in the industry.
Recent developments...
Where Eagle dares
When many plant hire firms decided to scale back on investment during the recession, Eagle Plant adopted a different approach by seizing the opportunity...
Handle with care
AIRDRIE-based plant equipment supplier, A. T. Best Handlers, is the specialist dealer for Manitou in the west of Scotland.
The business is run by father...
The director’s cut
THEY say a picture is worth a thousand words. In the challenging field of construction photography, when a perfectly timed shot of a standout...
High-tech simulator will be just the ticket for training academy
GOLDCAST Academy has revealed to Project Plant that it is in the process of launching a simulator as part of a multi-million-pound project which...
Kiltrotator: the rise of Steelwrist in Scotland
STEELWRIST has been making waves north of the border this year, with a number of clients spanning from the Borders to north of Aberdeenshire.
Project...
Kubota dig deep to mark anniversary
KUBOTA has teamed up with plant hire specialist GAP Group at ScotPlant 2014 to showcase its range of solutions for the construction industry.
The...
Retiring Young: industry stalwart reflects on 40 years in plant
BRIAN Young, one of the most respected and longest-serving figures in the Scottish plant industry, recently retired from his role as managing director at...
Reducing emissions from NRMM with alternative fuels
It is an uncomfortable truth that there is no single fuel solution to the air quality problem for the construction sector.
Cloburn Quarry fix costs and save fuel with new Cat
CLOBURN Quarry in Lanarkshire has become the first company in Scotland to purchase a Cat® 966K XE Wheel Loader.
The business has also invested in...
Family values remain at the heart of Young Plant
BRIAN Young has revealed it’s been very much business as usual at Young Plant Sales despite selling to the Molson Group.
Brian, who has agreed...
A sense of CAM in Castle Douglas
IT’S fair to say Castle Douglas-based CAM Engineering has come a long way since founder Clive Montgomery borrowed his dad’s van, put a toolbox...
Getting to know…Stephen McMahon
STEPHEN McMahon is sales manager for Scotland and the north east of England at attachment specialist Miller.
He’s worked in the plant industry for almost...
Getting to know…Brian McGrane
BRIAN McGrane is area sales manager for southern and central Scotland for Liebherr, where he is tasked with selling a full range of products...
Brammer to sponsor Hillhead 2014
BRAMMER, a supplier of maintenance, repair and overhaul products and services, has confirmed that it will once again sponsor Hillhead 2014 – the world’s...
Getting to know… John McGrath
John McGrath recently retired from his role as senior lecturer in plant mechanics at Glasgow Kelvin College.
John, who’s also chairman of the Glasgow branch...
Hyundai sets sail for harbour work
AN Isle of Bute-based boat builder has recently completed work on a canal dredger custom fitted with a 22-tonne Hyundai excavator, which is now...
Hitachi ’empowers’ customers with new medium excavators
HITACHI has announced that owners and operators have been put 'at the heart' of the design for its latest Zaxis-7 medium excavators: the ZX210-7,...
JCB on the charge to an electric future
Dan Gilkes gets behind the wheel of the new JCB 525-60E electric Loadall, launched as part of the manufacturer’s expanding portfolio of electric solutions...
Getting to know…Clive Montgomery
Clive Montgomery, founder of Castle-Douglas based family business CAM Engineering, launched the company with wife Jennifer in 2006, having decided to branch out on...
New SPOA President wants to “better the intake” into Scottish plant industry
Fraser Dykes is the new President of the Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA). His day job is running Dumfries-based heavy equipment contractors AMD Contract...
The right side of the tracks
AFTER joining his father's drainage company as a machine operator straight from school, Gareth McLaughlin is now Sales Manager for Kilwinning-based Kattrak International Limited.
Specialising...
Fall protection kit can limit risks
THERE were 144 work-related deaths in the last year, according to a recently published HSE report. The most common cause of death was a...
Callum Hammers home the message
CALLUM Mackintosh, owner of Highland Hammer Hire, is aiming to become THE one-stop destination for attachments in the north of Scotland.
It may seem like...
In the Black: hard work pays off for Stewarton hire firm
WHEN Tom Blackwood bought out his retiring father, Tom Senior, in 2001, Blackwood Plant Hire consisted of a few machines.
Today, the Stewarton-based firm has...
