Dominant Cornish force

by Nick Drew | Tue 15 Nov 2016

Dominant Cornish force

Taking another look back at one of my earlier articles published in Earthmovers Magazine and bringing it to life on the internet with different photos with this piece on Helston based MJL Contractors Ltd.

When Matthew Lugg first formed MJL Contractors Ltd in Helston, Cornwall, in 2001 the company consisted of Matthew and two other employees, with Matt, as he is more well known, operating the company’s first machine, a Case 590 Super LE backhoe loader for the initial 2 years in business. This machine was later joined by their first dumper, a second hand Thwaites 4 tonne model. Leap forward just 14 years and today the MJL Group employs a total of 232 staff, comprising of 214 site based personnel, 18 office staff and managers and a fleet of plant in excess of 350 items, a tally which continues to grow year on year. 005-bude

This meteoric rise to prominence in the South West civil engineering & groundwork’s sector should not really come as a surprise, as 36 year old Matt is clearly a focused and ambitious man who has already won local recognition at the Cornish Business Leader awards for his efforts. The forward thinking company continues to take on the big players in the region and is consistently winning the work which is a big credit to all those involved in the business. 023-bude

Although the company’s head office is in Helston, 3 years ago the company opened a second office in Exeter in Devon. This move gave MJL a much better geographical presence in the South West region, enabling them to compete for work in Devon and Somerset. Since opening this secondary office MJL Group has been awarded numerous large scale housing developments with blue chip companies like Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes, Taylor Wimpey Homes, Bovis Homes and Cavanna Homes. Talking about his company’s rapid expansion Matthew Lugg said, “The MJL Group has experienced significant controlled growth over the past 3 years. In 2012 we turned over £10 million, in 2013 this increased to £16 million and last year it increased to £27 million. With the workload we have already secured this year and the opportunities that are arising, we predict that we are going to increase turnover again this year in excess of £30 million. This significant growth has been achieved by employing great people who want to drive the business forward; with the right people on your side you can achieve the impossible!” Earthmovers caught up with some of MJL Groups machines on 2 sites in Cornwall, in Bodmin and firstly on a Bovis Homes site in the seaside town of Bude. This site will contain in excess of 300 new homes and will offer the company continuity of work for many years to come. It’s fair to say this site is particularly challenging in the winter months and during our visit wellies were definitely the order of the day. According to MJL’s highly experienced site manager Barry Potter, the site conditions have improved vastly from last winter, thanks in part to the construction of 3 large draining ponds which have helped to dry the ground out significantly. 002-bude

Excavators on this site were from the Doosan stable and consisted of a DX140LC Series 3 and a DX225LC Series 3, as well as a couple of hired in machines in the form of a Cat 308E and a Takeuchi TB175. The Doosan machines have long been a favourite make for the MJL Group, a choice which is reflected in Matt’s love of the six cylinder engines, which up to now are still fitted in these size machines within the range. The MJL fleet consists of over 50 excavators, ranging in size from 1.5 tonne up to 34 tonne. This fleet is heavily dominated by Doosan machines, but also contains models from Case, Cat, Hitachi and Takeuchi. The Doosan DX140LC -3 was hard at work loading topsoil into 9 tonne Thwaites forward tipping dumpers, which were battling the boggy conditions to get loaded. Operator Dave Stanley was full of praise for his nearly new mount, suggesting it was one of the best machines he had ever operated, and considering it has a 6 cylinder lump in the back, it is extremely frugal with its fuel consumption. The 14 tonne class machine is fitted with Doosan’s own DL06K common rail engines, which has a power output rating of 138kw (109hp) @1900 RPM and is stage 3B emissions compliant. 011-bude-dave-stanley-barry-potter

We caught up with another nearly new Doosan, the DX225-3 initially when it was engaged in loading dumpers with pipe bedding and backfill hardcore material for a drainage run that the machine was working on. The operator on this machine, Andy Burge, has been operating for MJL for just over 2 years. Andy was another operator who was delighted with his Doosan and said, “It’s one of the better machines I have driven over the years, it’s very reliable and we have had no problems with it. From an operators perspective inside I really cannot fault it, it’s got all the creature comforts you could want with all controls nicely laid out and to hand, I’m very happy with it”. 042-bude

The 21 tonne class DX225-3 is powered by Doosans same fuel efficient 6 cylinder stage 3B emissions compliant engine that is fitted in the DX140, but in the 225 its power output rating is 124kw (167hp) @1800 RPM. All Doosan machines on the MJL fleet have been supplied by long term local dealership Kellands Plant Sales Ltd, and both these machines featured Geith fully automatic quick hitches and buckets. In recent years the company has been purchasing small plant and equipment including Thwaites dumpers, rollers and other compaction equipment from Bomag, which have been supplied by CBL Plant Sales painted in MJL’s corporate colours of red & white, and on the Bude site there was an example of a 6 tonne Thwaites dumper in the stunning livery. 054-bude

The next site we visited was a new development for Wainhomes in Bodmin, just a short distance away from the main arterial route through Cornwall, the A30. This job is MJL’s first site for Wainhomes and is one of their largest sites in the West Country, which will eventually see in excess of 250 houses built on the edge of the town. Once again this site will provide a long run of work for the MJL Group. On this job we caught up with one of the company’s longest serving men, Michael Hawke Treneer, who is more well-known by his nickname “Lurch”. Lurch has always been a big fan of the Doosan machines but has recently become a convert to the Case range of excavators, an example of which a CX210C is his current mount on the firm. bodmin-002-2

Lurch said, “I was given a new Doosan to try out and I just didn’t like it to be honest, but as soon as I tried this new Case I was delighted with it. I wouldn’t say it’s as fast as a Doosan, but it’s a very smooth and refined piece of kit and grades like a dream. In addition the fuel economy is fantastic, I really rate it”. bodmin-012-2

The Case CX210C and several other Case models, including CX130C’s, have been supplied by local dealer M&M Plant Sales. The CX210 is powered by Isuzu’s AM-4HK1X high pressure common rail 4 cylinder Tier 4i stage 3B emissions compliant engine, with a power output of 119kw (160hp) ‘1800 RPM. What really strikes you with these machines is just how quiet they are when operating and as Lurch said sometimes it sounds too quiet, but in today’s environmentally sensitive world this can only be a good thing, It’s certainly nice to be able to hold a conversation with somebody in earshot of the machine and not have to raise your voice to make yourself heard. bodmin-008-2

This machine was equipped with something of a trademark for MJL machines, a grading bucket that has been adapted with extra sides and greedy boards to give them more capacity. These adaptions are done by legendary local self-employed mechanic Darryl Bennalick, who is pretty much engaged with MJL Group 7 days a week! bodmin-022-2

Also busy on this job were a couple of Doosan DX140LC’s and a Caterpillar 308E 2 CR machine, which is one of number of models of Cats popular 8 tonne offerings on the fleet. Talking of Caterpillar machinery, on the day of our visit, Cormac, a division of Cornwall County Council, were paving the new road on site with their Cat AP-600 paver. bodmin-025-2

In addition to the 50 excavators, the MJL Group also run around 40 site dumpers of varying sizes and around 60 vans. These vehicles are also supported by 2 tipper lorries, which are primarily used to supply jobs within the Cornwall area with materials offering the company even more flexibility in the local area. The current trucks are Renault and MAN, but there are two new Scania models on order, which will replace these two trucks in due course.

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