The majority of construction projects in the UK will require the use of a bulldozer at some point. This piece of machinery is purpose-built for earth moving applications on both small and large-scale construction sites.

Able to deliver a quick and efficient site clearance, a bulldozer will flatten hard core until it is level and ready for other plant machinery operators to begin their operations. Furthermore, a bulldozer is also critical to the last phase of works on site when they are in charge of laying finished surfaces such as top soil or sub base.

A bulldozer’s six-way PAT blades enable them to be a versatile and indispensable machine on many sites. This powerful yet highly accurate piece of equipment utilises laser and GPS technology to achieve exact levels.

So, why hire a bulldozer?

If you are considering buying your own bulldozer but don’t wish to make that leap just yet, hiring a bulldozer gives you a unique opportunity to try before you buy, meaning you can determine whether you would get use out of it without the financial outlay. Even better, some hire agreements allow you to upgrade to the latest machine (when it becomes available) at no extra cost.

Just remember, hiring a bulldozer won’t enable you to own the machinery outright at any point unless it is a condition of your contract. If you do own your own machine, you may start to concern yourself with when it may need to be sold and how much you will get if you sold your bulldozer today. We all know how much the value of a piece of equipment drops as soon as you pay for it and you won’t usually be able to recoup the full cost. If this is something which bothers you, hiring your equipment may be the best thing to do.

If you would like to discover more about bulldozer hire with Anglo Plant Hire Ltd, please do not hesitate to get in touch today.

This wheeled loading shovel has a standard bucket capacity of 3.5m3 and includes a maintenance-free braking system which features full dual circuit hydraulics with multiple oil-immersed discs. The large single-faced cooling package also facilitates quick, easy and safe cleaning.

The machine’s twin variable displacement piston pump hydraulics deliver fast cycle times and excellent multifunctioning capability. You can specify your own loader arm; the Z-bar linkage (ZX) option is ideal for high breakout applications whilst the high torque (HT) version is perfect for parallel lifting and multi attachment work. This wheeled loading shovel offers operators high lift and super high lift options.

With an innovative electronic management system, this shovel offers efficient, productive loader control and diverts maximum power to the loader hydraulics, reducing service brake wear and fuel consumption. The three different axle options offer the operator the ability to work on hard surfaces, soft and muddy terrain and varied conditions.

The new wheeled loading shovel offers superior strength and durability and guarantees starting performance down to -20°C. State-of-the-art manufacturing processes ensure the highest levels of build quality and the engine can cope with sudden, hard load changes when switching between tasks. The loader’s rear end is protected by a solid cast rear counterweight which routes hoses through the articulation joint and protects them from pinch points.

The ROPs approved structure of the new loading shovel offers an enhanced interior with a panoramic windscreen. With seat-mounted controls which move with the seat suspension, the loader is easier to operate than ever before. Two full colour LCD screens operate as menus and one is the monitor for the rear view camera.

If you would like to find out more about the JCB 457 Wheeled Loading Shovel and how it could benefit your next project, get in touch with Anglo Plant Hire today.

A roller is the kind of machine you would need to compact soil, sand, gravel and crushed stone. The vibration created by the roller coupled with the pressure it applies flattens the ground. Vibratory rollers comprise two smooth drums and the vibrators.

One of the rollers is fixed to the front of the machine and the other at the back. Both rollers are the same diameter, length and weight. Each roller covers the entire area beneath the wheel. The smooth wheel rollers installed to a vibratory roller makes the machine more efficient.

Vibrators are designed to disturb the particles in order to rearrange them, even disrupting the arranged ones. The weight of the wheels exerts pressure directly onto the layer below, compacting the particles together. When the roller reverses, the vibrators are turned off so that only the static weight of the machine is applied. The vibration of the roller is intended to diminish air voids in the surface and densify the layer.

Why Would I Hire a Roller?

By hiring a roller, you are lessening the impact a purchase would have on your finances. Plant equipment is not cheap and it may not always be viable to fork out when the equipment is required. If you hire the roller instead, you don’t need to pay a large sum instantly but you still get to use the machine.

If you commit to buying a roller, you are also committing to the maintenance and repairs it may need. When you hire a machine, your bank balance doesn’t have to suffer the misfortune of a breakdown. In the event that a hired machine does break, it will simply be replaced like for like by the hire company. This allows you to get on with the job using well-maintained equipment which is very unlikely to experience problems.

With a hire company on side, you can swap your equipment like you change your clothes. If you need a piece of equipment for one job which you scarcely use otherwise, there’s little point in forking out for it when you could simply hire one. This also helps you to cope with the changing nature of the market, because you won’t be stuck with a machine which you paid a large sum for but only used once.

If you were to decide to buy a roller, you would need to make sure you pay the right price for it. The last thing you want to do is pay over the odds and then suffer the effects of depreciation. Any piece of machinery or vehicle you buy starts to lose its value the moment you drive it away. If you would rather not be plagued by worries of when to sell, your best option is to hire your machines.

If you wish to discover more about the range of equipment available from Anglo Plant Hire, you are more than welcome to get in touch.

Working within construction can be expensive, especially since all manner of tools can be needed for one job. Companies are increasingly turning to plant hire companies in order to cut costs.

A dumper is invariably used for lifting and carrying bulk materials; these machines are usually open and their load skip is located in front of the driver. Dumpers are available in various sizes, so accessing smaller construction sites and tight spaces is easy.

You can think of and use a dumper as if it’s a large electric wheelbarrow. Great for transporting heavy materials, such as bricks, tiles, wood, and blocks of concrete, a dumper is quick, efficient and far less energy-draining than its manual alternative.

Hiring a dumper will also save you both time and money. Employing more people to get a job done faster costs more; why would you consider doing this when one piece of equipment can do the job of many people? An efficient way to remove unnecessary aggregates from a building site, a dumper is instrumental in keeping the area neat and clean.

If you hire a dumper instead of purchasing the same machine, all repairs and servicing requirements can be left to the hire company, saving you the cost and the hassle of doing it yourself. Even better, you can be sure that the one you need will be available at short notice. What’s more, hiring a dumper will give you access to high quality, reliable and yet affordable machines.

A dumper is a truly versatile machine. Where normal vehicles struggle to negotiate the churned up ground on a construction site and lack the necessary grip, dumper wheels are tracked which makes them ideal for use in rough terrain and a range of locations. Their wider wheelspan covers a larger surface area – making travelling across a site and climbing steep inclines much easier.

A construction company should always prioritise the safety of its employees. People are more likely to injure themselves when doing manual work and such ailments can include back strains and crushed extremities due to dropping heavy items.  Having a dumper within your collection is a great way to minimise accidents in the workplace as workers will no longer have to handle materials and heavy objects manually, making their working life easier whilst minimising costs.

Can you imagine picking up and transporting tonnes of aggregates with your bare hands? How about lifting a steel girder to a great height? If you think about it, we have a lot to thank the various inventors of plant machinery for.

If you are running a construction business, the chances are that you want to be able to provide the best service possible without incurring astronomical costs or having to employ a workforce of 100 people to complete a single project. After all, if you have to pay all these people and make some profit too, can you imagine your client being happy with the cost? We think not.

With such a variety of plant machinery available to businesses like yours, there’s no project which wouldn’t benefit from the addition of some plant equipment. Machinery is essential to the efficient completion of every job as it enables businesses to decrease costs and time spent whilst mobilising the workforce.

Before most construction projects can begin, there is a plot of land which needs to be cleared. You would be very lucky to find a site which has already been demolished, cleared and perfectly flattened. In such a situation, you would profit from using a bulldozer, a piece of machinery which is widely recognised for its ability to shift very heavy loads and clear site debris by pushing sand, soil and other materials to one side, ready to be collected by an excavator and lifted into a dumper truck.

Remember that steel girder? Well, lifting it up to 50 feet in height would be pretty simple if you were in possession of a telehandler. This particular piece of lifting machinery is versatile and highly productive as it is equipped with a steel boom which can be fitted with a range of attachments, such as a pallet fork, grab, or a bucket. The engine power of a telehandler, its ability to make quick directional changes and its front-mounted stabilisers also enables the operator to tackle all types of terrain and lift heavy loads safely. 

An excavator can also play many different roles in a number of projects, including digging holes, foundations, and trenches, demolishing buildings and handling materials. Imagine how long it would take a team of people to do all of these jobs as efficiently as an excavator. One thing is for certain; your client would start checking their watch pretty quickly.

What about the movement of aggregates? Well, you don’t have to use your van or flatbed truck to shift building materials. There is a range of dumpers available for all manner of requirements so you can choose the dump truck which closely matches your needs. Dumpers have a front or
rear-mounted skip which makes it easier to transport materials around a site, the only thing you should be mindful of is the required payload capacity and the terrain the machine will be used on, as different types of dumpers vary in performance depending on the landscape.

If you’ve resisted looking into plant hire in favour of a more manual approach, maybe it’s about time that you introduced your (probably very tired) workforce to some plant machinery? You will certainly find yourself in favour with both your employees and your clients as the accuracy and efficiency of your work drastically improves and the cost of your services starts to fall – without compromising your bottom line of course.

If you would like to save yourself some time, money and maintain a happy, motivated workforce, maybe it’s time you became a plant machinery convert.

Perfect for excavating, clearing, material handling, heavy lifting and ground levelling, any project will come on leaps and bounds if a mini digger is involved. If you have decided that your project requires the involvement of a mini digger, the next step is to determine whether you need a self-drive or operated machine.

Self-Drive or Operated

If you have used a mini digger in the past, you might be inclined to take your chances and climb aboard yourself. If you are working on private land, and not riding the digger on the road at any point, you don’t need a license in order to operate the machinery. However, with technology developing faster than ever before, things may be a little different to how you remember.

If you don’t have the time to familiarise yourself with the operation of a mini digger and you need to get started straight away, it’s a good idea to look for the hire of mini diggers which will be controlled on your site by experienced operators. These highly experienced and fully certified people have thorough knowledge of plant operation and will be a great help to you, especially if you are working to a tight deadline.

The operator of a mini digger will only need a quick briefing of what is required of their services prior to beginning work. They will dig in line with your project’s requirements and you won’t need to worry about whether they have adopted the right technique or are operating as efficiently as possible.
Hiring a self-drive mini digger may save you a bit of money. However, have you considered how much your time and effort is worth? If you would like to discuss your own requirements for mini digger hire, you are more than welcome to contact a member of the team at Anglo Plant Hire who will be happy to be of service.

There are a great number of advantages to hiring a telehandler. This specialised mobile crane has a telescopic boom which sits upon a self-propelled chassis and makes light work of a variety of tasks.  Larger than your average cherry picker, a telehandler offers the manoeuvrability of a small machine whilst also providing the power and reach of a larger machine.

Lift and transport heavy loads

A telehandler is designed to lift and transport heavy loads whilst taking up far less space than a truck-mounted crane, ensuring that the operator can get the job done with minimal disruption. If you are looking for a multi-purpose machine, a telehandler is designed to cope with many applications in various environments, from construction sites to farms.

On and off-road capabilities

Particularly popular in the agricultural sector, telehandlers boast 4 wheel drive, which is ideal for both on and off-road capabilities. As such, telehandlers can be driven to the construction site instead of being transported. It is vital that you consider what terrain the machine will be working on and the weights it will need to be able to carry. It’s worth remembering that not all telehandlers are designed for use on rough terrain. It is recommended that machines featuring variable-reach booms are used when working on rougher terrain.

Improved flexibility and accessibility

Able to carry more weight than a cherry picker, a telehandler is capable of lifting loads weighing anything between 4 and 40 tonnes as high as 17 metres. Never underestimate the power of a telehandler, the vehicle can be stationary on its outriggers whilst the top portion of the crane retains the ability to rotate 360°, offering improved flexibility and accessibility.

Ideal for when positioning is everything

The fact that many telehandlers can be radio controlled offers the opportunity for the telehandler to be operated from outside of the cabin. The operator has the ability to climb inside a personnel cage and remotely lift themselves into the required position, ideal for when positioning is everything. As a telehandler is a very powerful piece of machinery; anyone planning to operate one will need to have specific qualifications and the experience required to be able to handle the machine safely.

Attachments available for an enormous range of tasks

With a huge variety of attachments available for telehandlers, there’s something for just about any task. Choose between pallet forks, buckets, lift tables and grabs to make light work of handling all kinds of materials. It’s useful to plan what you will use the telehandler for in advance so that you may request the relevant attachments from your hire company.

Optimise work times and enhance productivity

A telehandler can be easily adapted to meet the needs of the construction industry. This cost-effective machine is recognised for its ability to optimise work times and enhance productivity by enabling the quick and efficient completion of a range of jobs. You’ll find that your hire costs are quickly recouped by the versatility of this machine.

Please remember how important it is to make sure that a fully qualified operator is at the helm at all times. Keeping clients and members of staff safe should always be priority. If you would like to discover more about the resourcefulness of a telehandler and how you could benefit from hiring one for your upcoming projects, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Anglo Plant Hire.

Extra Height, Visibility and Enhanced Manoeuvrability

Easy to manoeuvre, the JCB 5CX Wastemaster offers the choice of up to 3 steering modes, which include 4-wheel steer and crab steer. The four stabiliser legs not only provide extra height, but also improved visibility into the waste containers, baler or shredder. When fitted with the skip hook attachment, the machine also provides improved pallet handling facilities as well as enhanced movement of containers around the site.

Suitable for the Non-Stop Working Environment

When supplied by Anglo Plant Hire, this flexible, productive machine is tailor made to suit your individual waste environment and it has the ability to power a wide variety of attachments, ensuring it has the capacity to tackle all waste handling applications and is suitable for the non-stop working environment.

Exceptional Fuel Economy

Operator and site staff safety is assured by the high visibility stabiliser chevrons, rotating beacon and reversing alarm. The machine is also fitted with everything from additional boom protection and light guards to a fuel tank guard and puncture-protected tyres. Robust loader arms and axles are powered by a 109hp (81kW) JCB EcoMAX engine which offers exceptional fuel economy, ensuring that the machine can travel between sites quickly, easily and cost effectively.

Fast, Efficient Machine with Effective Materials-Handling Capabilities

Quick statistics:

• Maximum Dig Depth - 6.14m

• Maximum Engine Power - 81kW

• Maximum Loader Capacity - 4638kg

• Shovel Capacity - 1.3m3

To discover more about the JCB 5CX Wastemaster and hire your own machine, contact the team at Anglo Plant Hire today.

Before we can delve into the etymology of ‘plant’ and its various meanings, it’s important to establish exactly what we mean by ‘plant machinery’. The term is widely used to refer collectively to the different apparatus and pieces of equipment used within the construction trade. However, the term does not cover the premises in which a company trades i.e. a shop or factory, the raw materials used, or the stock a company has.

The noun ‘plant’ is an interesting choice of word which is used to describe heavy machinery. Originating from the Latin word ‘planta’ which means sprout, the verb opposite to ‘planta’ is in fact ‘plantare’, meaning ‘to drive into the ground with the foot’. It’s quite curious that as a noun it appeals to growth and development and yet, as a verb, it implies a physical action which, in effect, stamps out life.

Strangely enough, the Latin ‘plantare’ also means to ‘fix in place’ which is similar to the action of planting something into the ground in order for it to grow. If we ignore for now the reference to growing, to ‘plant’ literally means to insert firmly and is a phrase which has been in use since the 1300s both as a literal and metaphorical expression, i.e. the planting of ideas. US slang developed the term in order for it to be employed as an alternative to bury something, or even someone.

When planting a seed, or a more developed shrub, you deliberately place it in a fixed position before burying the roots which soon tie the plant to the ground and give it life. As such, this term has become a modern metaphor for many things. In accounting terms, plant machinery is considered a fixed asset within a business.

Plant is also widely accepted as a shortened form of plantation, otherwise known as a large scale settling of immigrants in a foreign country, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. Such settlements were referred to as "plantations" because the government hoped that the "transplanted" population would stay put in their new surroundings.

A plantation was a place of industrialised agriculture which has since developed into a factory. As such, an alternative label for a factory is plant. Machinery used within such a factory/plant is now very often shortened to ‘plant’. 

If an item of equipment is large, difficult to move and therefore fixed in place, this item almost becomes synonymous with a plant because it behaves like a plant and, therefore, it is a plant. Anything from a telehandler to a bulldozer will be deliberately placed in prime position where work can begin. The boom is operated from the central cab with only small positional changes required once the machine is in place.

If we refer back to our original question, it seems that there is no definitive answer. However there is an interesting timeline suggesting the gradual coining of a phrase which is expressed today but very firmly rooted in the past.

Telehandlers

There are 3 different types of telehandler available. A standard telehandler reaches higher lift heights when compared with standard forklifts. Full weight capacities can be lifted from 18 feet to 56 feet high and popular models feature power shift transmission and all-wheel steering. Roomy, ergonomically designed cabs result in longer, more productive shifts. The machine itself is run by a single joystick which controls both the boom functions and hydraulics for simple and efficient operation.

Rotating telehandlers

Similar to a standard telehandler, rotating telehandlers have the capacity to lift heavy weights to great heights whilst offering the added benefit of 360° turntable rotation which means a wide service area can be reached from a single position. Some rotating telehandlers have two sets of joystick controls; one controls the direction and the boom whilst the second controls rotation.

Specifications of telehandlers

This machine stands out for its manoeuvrability and accessibility, which is thanks to large heavy-duty pneumatic cushion tyres.

Specifications of telehandlers

High levels of engine power enable the vehicle to tackle a variety of terrains and heft heavy loads to great heights. The most common lift capacities range between 4,000 and 12,000lbs. Telehandlers and rotating telehandlers can reach maximum lift heights of between 18 and 97 feet.

The comfortable cab facilitates easy entrance and exit whilst also affording the operator excellent all-round visibility. Stabilisers are often mounted to the front of telehandlers which allow added weight to be lifted to the maximum lift height whilst ensuring the safety of operators during forward reach by preventing tyres from lifting off the ground. Attachments which can be added to a telehandler include forks, buckets, hooks, and truss booms amongst others. 

Dumpers

A dumper is a compact construction vehicle with a front or rear-mounted skip which is used to transport construction materials from one area of a site to another.  A dumper can also be used as a tractor to tow a trailer but only if equipped with a towing eye. A dumper can carry up to ten tonnes, which are usually tipped using hydraulics.

Mounted on a traditional rigid chassis, rigid dump trucks offer exceptional strength and increased payload capacity. The truck has a closed cab at the front with a rearward tipping dump bed which sits on only two axles. Generally diesel-powered, a rigid dump truck is best suited to gentle terrain due to its larger turning radius and limited off-road capability.

Tracked dump trucks

Tracked dump trucks move on continuous tracks, instead of tyres, which evenly distribute the vehicle’s weight. By spreading the weight over a wider area, less damage is inflicted on the surface and the vehicle retains excellent traction on slick or snowy surfaces. Tracks can either be made of rubber or steel. Rubber is quiet, smooth and ideal for paved areas whereas steel tracks are ideal for rough ground. Though they last longer, steel tracks are noisier and offer a rougher ride.

Mini dumpers

Operators sit at the back of mini dumpers with a forward-tipping dump bed mounted in front of them. Cabs on mini dumpers are not enclosed, so they have roll bars fitted to ensure the operator’s safety should the need arise. The two axles are generally articulated somewhere between the operator and the dump bed, which eases manoeuvring in tight spaces. The skip, or dump bed, is usually tipped hydraulically and the machine typically travels on either tyres or tracks. The reduced payload capacity makes this machine more suitable for smaller operations.