Kirk Hough goes Large with Hyundai

Helston based KHC Groundworks & Civil Engineering owner Kirk Hough continues to add to his fleet of machines, and with a lot of local work on the go and in the pipeline, there is no let-up in expanding with the latest kit and technologies.

One of Kirk’s recent investments is another machine from the Hyundai stable, a good quality used 50-tonne class HX520L hydraulic excavator which has been equipped with a Leica 3D GPS system, the Digger Man Blog took a trip down to a new site on the outskirts of Helston to take a look.

This is an exceptionally large excavator for regular civils work and it came as a surprise to me when I heard about it arriving, but Kirk explained the reasoning behind it, “I was initially looking at purchasing a 30-tonner as we have a number of big jobs coming up, but Tom Wilson at Molson’s told me about this 50-tonne unit which was previously owned by Ovenden’s over in Kent, so we knew it would have been well looked after, Tom did us a great deal and so we went for it. True to form Molson prepared it nicely with a repaint as required before we took delivery”.

Once on site the machine was fitted with the Leica MC-1 3D system by One Point Survey Equipment Ltd, something that Kirk is investing in heavily now, “It’s definitely the future as far as we are concerned, less people on the ground, and the operators can do it all from the safety of the cab, it’s a no brainer really”.

The job in Helston is doing all the infrastructure works for another new housing development project, which includes putting in all the drainage and roads ahead of the main house building groundworks, on the day of our visit the HX520L was excavating for a big soakaway which it was doing on its own with the operator guided by the GPS.

Operating the machine since it arrived in February is John Harris, who was previously operating for another local contractor in the area, talking about the machine John said, “It’s a big beast of a machine, to be honest, I had never been on anything this big previously and it initially took a bit of getting used to, mainly in terms of watching the back end as it has a fair tail swing on it, but I soon got the measure of it and it’s a nice machine to operate with all the creature comforts in the cab”.

Kirk’s excavator fleet is dominated by Hyundai machines, from 14-tonne upwards but for the smaller machines he is now opting for Kobelco’s which are also supplied by Molson’s. Kirk has also been something of a trailblazer with tiltrotators down in Cornwall, initially Engcon, but more lately he’s been taking models from SMP once more through the Molson connection.

Kirk said, “We are finding it makes a lot more sense to opt for the SMP with Molson being the dealer for both the machines and the tiltrotator, so more like a one stop shop, which makes things a lot easier for us in the long run.

Another addition to the fleet since I last caught up with Kirk is a Liebherr PR 716 dozer which was purchased as a low-houred ex-Liebherr rental fleet model, and which is proving to be a cracking little machine since it replaced their out going Cat tractor. 

It’s been great to see how Kirk’s business has grown over the years, and proof that hard work and dedication really does pay off.

Checkout our video of the HX520L in action on the day.