Bell Rings the Changes with New JCB’s

Based in the Gloucestershire town of Cinderford on the edge of the Forest of Dean, family business KW Bell Group’s story started some 51 years ago when the current Managing Director Peter Bell’s father Keith Bell set up the firm with nothing more than a shovel, trowel and a few hand tools as a solo bricklayer.

KW Bell Group run a separate heavy plant and machinery division Bell Plant, the company runs in excess of 250 items of equipment with an estimated value in the region of £4m to £5m.

The fleet is largely dominated by machines from British manufacturer JCB, speaking to me previously Managing Director Peter Bell said, “It’s a great British company and it’s been a fantastic brand for us over the years, backed up by a very good support network from our dealer”.

The company has started receiving its latest batch of machines which includes 13 x 140XLC models, 9 of which are fitted with Leica GPS systems, and 1 x 220XLC as part of their continuous fleet renewal programme that has been managed over many years by Holt JCB's territory manager Sean Campbell, who has built a strong working relationship with Peter Bell and his family during this time.

A number of machines were traded back in on the deal which included 12 x 140XLC, 1 x 220LC and 1 x JS130LC which was the last remaining JS model in the fleet.

One of the machines a 140XLC arrived on site in Barry last week replacing an outgoing JS model and friend of the Digger Man Blog Kenneth Hatcher was on hand to capture a few photos of the machine in action on its first day.

This example which is fitted with a Leica GPS system, is being operated by long serving operator Sid Griffiths who incredibly has worked for the Bell Group for 30 years.

The X Series range of hydraulic excavators from JCB has been very well received by end users and operators alike, since it was first launched with the 220X back in 2018.

Some video footage featuring a JCB 140XLC from a Bell site visit I did a couple of years ago for Earthmovers Magazine. 

We thank Kenneth Hatcher for sharing these photos with us here on the Digger Man Blog.