A case of economics

by Nick Drew | Wed 31 Aug 2016

A case of economics

In this post I'm bringing yet another one of my Earthmovers articles to life on the internet, with this feature on Helston based H.G Thomas Plant Hire Ltd.

Harold Thomas has been something of a trailblazer with many things in Cornwall over the years, in fact he recalled with some passion how he was the first to take delivery of a new Suzuki GSX-R750 motorbike in the region back in 1985. Now some 30 years later Harold is the first customer in Cornwall to take delivery of a Chinese manufactured LiuGong excavator, in what could be seen as a move away from the company’s traditional brand of machine.

Having been involved in the plant game from as far back as the late 1960’s, Harold formed his Helston based company H. G Thomas Plant Hire in 1988, offering operated or self-drive excavators. The company had a long running working relationship with E. Thomas, (no connection) a local based division of the Mowlem Group, which was to last for the next 10 years and was the perfect springboard for the fledgling plant hire company. As Harold’s connections within E. Thomas branched out to work for other companies such as Bam Nuttall’s, they invited him to join them and as such the business continued to expand. A lot of H. Thomas Plant hire’s work has been working on projects for South West Water and the utilities side of things, but over the years they have expanded further into working for large housing site contractors. Alongside this work, in more recent years the firm has been engaged in supplying plant for a number of large windfarm projects in the South West and a number of solar energy farms in the region and even as far afield as Kings Lynn in Norfolk. The company has also worked on sea defence works on the Scilly Isles and has more sea defence work lined up this coming year with Bam Nuttall’s.

The company runs a fleet of equipment, which is dominated by Case products. These include 11 tracked excavators ranging from 2.8 tonne up to 18 tonne and one 14 tonne class wheeled excavator. These machines are supported by a wide variety of excavator mounted attachments across the size ranges including, compaction plates, rotary screening buckets, clamshell grabs, adjustable pallet forks and of course hammers, which are often an essential tool for dealing with the tough ground conditions in the Westcountry. The excavator fleet is supported by a range of forward tipping site dumpers, with the current tally being 12 units from manufacturers like Barford and Wacker Neuson.

The firm currently employs 6 full time members of staff, but has a wide pool of self-employed contractors they can call on when things are busy. Two former employees have recently set up in business on their own doing small private jobs at weekends, but they are still working on a sub-contractor basis for H. Thomas during the week. Earthmovers caught up with Harold and members of his team on a job in the seaside town of Newquay, Cornwall, where they are currently working on a 5 month contract for Kier/May Gurney for South West Water. This job involves excavation and laying of 1,900m of 300mm diameter ductile pipe for a foul drain, which will eventually connect into a newly proposed housing development on the outskirts of the town. In places the excavation has proven to be incredibly tough going, thanks in part to the depth and to the seams of hard shillet stone which has slowed the excavation process down, a very common occurrence in this part of the world.

In a complete contrast to the hard digging area, Harold operating his Case CX75C SR 7.5 tonne machine was busy excavating through an old disused tip area, unearthing all kinds of bottles and china clay pipes along the way. Harold was supported in this task by the Case CX130, which was engaged in backfilling duties and lifting the trench boxes in and out of the excavation.

It was on the toughest section of the job that we caught up with H. Thomas Plant Hire’s latest addition to the fleet, an 8 tonne class LiuGong 908D, which is the first Chinese machine to be sold into the Cornish market. Talking about his decision to choose a LiuGong Harold said “I had been considering a change of brand for some time, I did a fair bit of research on them and after reading about the machines in Earthmovers Magazine, I decided to contact Construction Plant & Machinery Sales (CPMS) the UK dealers in Portsmouth, who I must say were incredibly helpful. I won’t deny one of the reasons the machine appealed was the price, but in addition looking at the spec I was very impressed with the machines common components, most of which can be found in more perceived up market brands. Also on spec the machine is capable of lifting more than our existing 8 tonne class excavators which surprised me”.

Harold continued, “I looked at how the machine was put together, it’s got a tried and tested 4 cylinder Yanmar 72.8hp stage IIIA engine and the same can be said for the pumps and track motors, for me it was like turning the clock back ten years to when machines were simpler and had a lot less to go wrong, which call me old fashioned, but in my eyes that can only be a good thing, I really liked the simplicity of the machine, so I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained. Looking at it from a business perspective, the LiuGong worked out around £16k cheaper than our existing 8 tonne models to buy new. In 5 years’ time if the LiuGong is worth nothing and the other make is worth £16k I will still be on a level playing field economically. On this job we have the two competitive 8 tonne machines working, the cheaper machine is still drawing the same hourly rate as the more expensive machine; it’s a no brainer really”.

In previous year’s Harold used to run 3 Case 9007 machines, which were of course based on the Sumitomo SH60 models. Harold said “The 9007’s were absolutely brilliant machines and earned us a good decent living, without all the complexities of today’s more modern kit. From my point of view a vast majority of modern kit is quite simply too high tech, take for example one of our most modern machines, if the exhaust/silencer blows a hole in it, I’m going to be facing a big repair bill, whereas on the older or less sophisticated machines if the exhaust blows, my welder can patch it up and keep us going for longer with much less expense”. It was quite clear that Harold has an old school approach to plant and machinery and hankers for the old days when machines were much less technical “Like many old hands, I like to hear a machine working, but with most modern machines the engine noise just seems to be one continual tone” said Harold. Harold Thomas 2

One old piece of kit which is highly regarded by Harold is the company’s Case-Poclain 688P wheeled excavator. This 1996 model has been 100% reliable since it joined the fleet in 2006 when it was sold to Harold by the then Case dealership CRMS. The “Rubber Duck” had started its life as a Road-Railer conversion, but after a 10 year spell in the rail industry it was converted back to a construction machine. Harold had a specially designed quick hitch made for the machine enabling it to carry all the buckets and attachments for a 13 ton machine making it even more versatile. The machine has proven time and time again to be a valuable addition to the fleet with it’s in cab load indicator, off set “knuckle” boom and pallet forks. “The machine has amassed over 7,500 hours now and has never missed a beat, they just don’t make them like this anymore. It’s a great machine to have around as it can turn its hand to anything, whether its loading muckaway or moving pallets and pipes around the job, it’s a fantastic machine” said Harold.

Going forward, Harold Thomas has expressed an interest in adding more LiuGong machines to the fleet, explaining that when the time is right they will add more to the fleet or upgrade any ageing machines as and when it’s necessary.

The two lads that are sharing the “drive” on the machine both seem happy with the Chinese excavator in terms of its operation and level of cab comfort. One operator commented, “I think it’s a decent little machine, admittedly the cab interior looks a bit cheap and maybe not as plush as some of the Japanese kit, but overall it has everything in it that you could really want as an operator. If I had to find one complaint it would have to be the interior rear view mirror, as when you have the window open and stored in the roof, I find I keep banging my head on it!”

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