Taking Down, Loading Up

Taking a look back at one of my articles previously published in Earthmovers Magazine, bringing it to life on the internet, with alternative photos and video footage.

The last time we caught up with Cornish demolition contractors DSW (Demolition South West) was back in June 2018 when they had just taken delivery of a refurbished 40 tonne class Hyundai R 380LC-9A hydraulic excavator which had been supplied by Molson’s.

The family run business became a corporate member of the National Federation of Demolition Contractors in November 2018, making them the only demolition contractors in the south west to be NFDC approved.

Since we last visited DSW Managing Director Darren Shrigley has continued to invest in the growth of the business, purchasing a number of new machines from his preferred supplier Molson Group.

The firm are now running 12 x hydraulic excavators, mainly from the Hyundai stable with some smaller Kobelco machines, 3 x telescopic handlers, a new wheeled loader (more on that later) and additional screening and crushing equipment.

Last year an opportunity arose for them to purchase the former DRS yard, Domellick Manor in St Dennis, Cornwall, in something of a déjà vu moment, this property which was once owned by Darren’s father Dave Shrigley, is now back in the fold after having laid dormant for around 3.5 years. Since the purchase DSW have cleared any rubbish that was previously left on the site, built brand new offices and have been granted new waste transfer station permits from the Environment Agency. They are also in the process of updating the workshops, tidying up the place and generally making it fit for purpose again.

Talking about worked lined up Darren said, “We have plenty of projects ahead of us and we really hope that following this corona virus pandemic the construction and demolition industries will continue on an upward streak”.

Further expanding on his latest excavator purchases Darren said, “Our most recent purchase was a 14-tonne class HX145LCR, these machines are proving to be brilliant for us especially on some of our smaller and more congested sites, in fact we have already put in an order for another one to join the fleet.

We also purchased our first Kobelco earlier this year in the form of a 3-tonne class SK28SR model, we have been so impressed with that machine, that we have put in a further order for a larger SK85MSR-7 with a TAB boom which I am told will be the first demolition specification model of its kind in the UK. To be perfectly honest the fleet is feeling quite complete at the moment, but if we need anything else, we will continue to grow it if the industry requires us to do so”.

The Hyundai fleet is topped by a 40-tonne class 380LC-9A which was a refurbished machine from Molson. 8, 14 and 22 tonne models complete the line-up. Darren has built up a great working relationship with Molson regional sale manager Tom Wilson, who he says understands their business and the machinery they need and in addition always offers a great deal.

Most of DSW’s larger excavators are fitted with side impact skirts where needed, demolition specification belly guards, FOPS cab guards and full “fall from height” boxing ring protection. These modifications are included to comply with demolition industry regulations as laid down by the NFDC.

Its relatively early days back in the waste transfer yard, but Darren suggests that before the corona virus brought a halt to work they were turning over somewhere in the region of 500 tonnes a week of demolition rubble which they are processing, crushing and screening to produce a quality recycled product which they can sell back into the construction industry, while making a decent profit to do so.

An additional 200 tonnes of mixed construction waste also pass through the gates per week for processing. Specialist asbestos division, sister company ASW Environmental Ltd deals with the hazardous material.

Of course, any recycling and screening facility needs a wheeled loading shovel and as previously mentioned DSW has recently invested in an upgrade. Their first shovel was, unsurprisingly from the Hyundai stable, in the form of an HL760, this machine had served them well but was getting tired, becoming a bit problematic and unreliable, so Darren turned to Tom at Molson’s once more.

As it happened Molson had a good quality second hand Hyundai unit in stock which was a 2017 model HL960 with 5,000 hours on the meter which had been traded in for a new machine by Mid Devon based John Luffman Group. The machine had clearly been well looked after by its previous operator and was in the yard ready to go, following a brief chat between Darren and Tom the machine was delivered to their yard in St Dennis within the week.

Talking about the shovel Darren said, “I couldn’t be more happier with the new addition, its in tip top condition considering the hours on the meter and in the cab there is still some plastic on the seat from when it was brand new, its obvious to see that its former operator took a lot of pride in her and she will serve us well down here”.

On the day of our visit to site the guys were running a skeleton crew due to the Covid-19 situation, Darren himself was operating the R220-9A excavator loading material into the crushing and screening units, while James Hammer was running the HL960 loading shovel.

As it happens James whose regular job role is that of a fitter/field service engineer, has recently joined DSW after a lengthy spell working for Kellands Plant Sales, out of their Camelford depot in a similar role and is sure to be a great addition to the team bringing with him years of experience working on Korean kit, all be it of a different colour!

This model of the HL960 has an operating weight of 18,800kgs and is powered by 168kw (225hp) 6.7 litre, 6-cylinder Cummins QSB6.7 Tier 4 Final emissions compliant diesel engine and in this instance is fitted with the standard 3.3 m3 / 4.3 yd3 capacity bucket with a reversible bolt on cutting edge arrangement.

In the compact but busy recycling yard the shovels primary duties are removing the crushed and screened processed materials from either the Sandvik QJ241 crusher or their Powerscreen Warrior 1400 screener and moving the material to the storage areas within the yard, for further loading onto road going trucks as and when the material is purchased by customers. The machines standard on-board weighing system makes for easy loading of trucks ensuring that they are not over or under loaded in terms of legal weight limits.

Watching the machine perform one has to say, not only is it a stylish looking loader, it’s also very fast and nimble thanks in part to its four-forward and three-reverse speed torque converter transmission, which James described as a joy to use. The built-in rear-view camera is also welcome piece of kit to have in the cab for monitoring the bustling yard area when manoeuvring around.

Trucks from sister company ASW were busy bringing in demolition rubble from a job they were tackling locally, all of which was being fed through the crusher as it came in and turned into quality hardcore material. 

Its clear to see that DSW have a lot of faith in their Hyundai equipment and no doubt they will continue to invest in the Korean built machines, but with a nearly new Japanese Kobleco 3-tonner parked in the yard and another on order we may be seeing the start of a “blue” period for the business in terms of machine selection, however I suspect more of a harmonious mix of the two brands on the DSW fleet going forward.