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Backing British

The company’s first digger was a Case 590 Super LE backhoe loader which they purchased in 2001 and ran for the initial 2 years of trading. Since those early days Case and Doosan machines have for a long time dominated the fleet thanks in part to good and proactive dealerships in the West Country. In more recent years the portfolio of brands has expanded and in addition to the aforementioned makes MJL now run excavators from 13-tonne above from Hyundai and Hitachi. In the 9-tonne and below sector excavators are represented by a mixed fleet from Hitachi, Takeuchi, Kobelco, Case and Doosan.

In an interesting development Matt Lugg has recently invested in brand new JCB machines, his first machines ever from the famous British manufacturer. Paul Butcher the Territory Manager for Holt JCB in Devon and Cornwall explained, “I had been speaking to Matt for some considerable time, and when an opportunity came along for me to provide a quote to supply a new 3CX Contractor Pro to replace an outgoing Case 590, I jumped all over it and I was fortunate enough to win the order. Several weeks later Matt put in another order for a second 3CX”.

Talking about the move to JCB backhoe loaders Matt Lugg said, “The JCB wheeled diggers are a well proven entity and as such I don’t envisage us having any issues with them, so now we are running two 3CX’s and our drivers really rate them, I feel they are everything a wheeled digger needs to be with proven reliability built in”.

The 3CX’s which are powered by JCB’s Stage IV/Tier 4F emissions compliant in-house built 81kw (109hp) EcoMAX engines, and have been supplied with impressive specification including PRO Advanced Easy Control (AEC), Auto 6 speed shift JCB transmission, cruise control, JCB Torquelock, double acting auxiliary pipework, hydraulic quick coupler and rear Powerslide, in the cab the operator has full air conditioning, heated air suspension seat and a heated front windscreen for those frosty mornings.

We caught up with one of these machines working on a Taylor Wimpey site in Exmouth, which I was delighted to find was being operated by someone I have worked on site with previously, Brian Dalgleish, who was quick to heap praise on his new mount, saying, “I think it’s a brilliant bit of kit, in fact I’d go as far as to say it’s the best backhoe loader I’ve ever driven, its got great stability even over the side at full stretch. I especially like the Powerslide feature, which enables me to shift the boom across to any position I like, so much easier than all the pushing and pulling that you used to have to do on the old ones without it!”

It was nice to see the venerable JCB 3CX on site doing all the things you expect to see these multi-taskers doing, namely a bit of everything, something else that Brian was keen to comment on, “That’s what I like about being on a backhoe loader, you get a lot of variety, no two days are the same, its good to be mobile getting around the jobsite, whether if be running blocks on the forks, or fetching pipework, loading dumpers or moving materials with the front bucket, there’s no getting bored on a backhoe!”

Take a look at our video of the 3CX in action on site at Exmouth.

With the new 3CX’s proving their worth on sites Matt started to show interest in the new X Series hydraulic excavators. He took a 220XLC on demonstration on a site in Cornwall, Holt JCB’s Paul Butcher takes up the story, “Having demonstrated the new X Series excavator, I was delighted to win an order for 2 x 140XLC models which again would be replacing outgoing Case 13-tonne machines. Upon delivery I visited both machines on site to install the machines and to give the operators an induction on the functions and features of the new models, one operator said to me, it’s the best excavator I have ever operated, fast comfortable, smooth and quiet, I relayed the operators thoughts to Matt to which he replied, “It looks like JCB excavators have turned a corner, I’m very happy to back British products when possible”.

MJL’s new 140X’s have been supplied with double locking hydraulic quick hitches, auxiliary hydraulic lines, Level 3 lighting pack, which includes 14 Scandinavian style LED working lights, rear and side camera, green seatbelt beacon and fall from height protection (boxing ring), in the cab the operator gets climate control and a luxury Grammer heated air suspension seat which also features cool air ventilation for summer working.

The 14-tonne class 140XLC is powered by JCB’s well-proven EcoMAX diesel engine which also offers a power output rating of 81kw (108hp) in this application and drives the all new larger capacity Kawasaki hydraulic pump which is at the heart of the machine’s smoothness and power in operation.

Talking about his decision to invest in the new X Series machines Matt Lugg said, “When we had the 22-tonner on demo our operators who tried it gave good positive feedback on it, some even preferred it to other makes, I was also impressed with the full 3 year manufacturers warranty and the competitive deal that Holt JCB put together. Its early days with them on our fleet at the moment, but there have been no complaints so far, they are proving to be reliable and the operators are impressed”.

Matt continued, “Time will tell of course, but as long as they remain reliable and competitive on price, I wouldn’t have a problem continuing to add more X Series machines to our fleet, as you know, we are continually investing in upgrading our fleet and we have another batch of 13/14 tonners coming up for upgrade shortly”.

We caught up with one of the 14-tonners on another housing site, on this occasion the massive Cranbrook development just outside Exeter. The machine was busy placing concrete in a foundation for a garden wall, but during loads we did get a chance to talk to operator Lee Mason about the machine which he had been on for 3 weeks, Lee said, “I love it, it’s a great machine to operate, so smooth on the controls, plenty of power when you need it and the cab interior is second to none, at the moment, I really can’t fault it at all”.

Checkout our video from the site visit.

*As one of the big three players in the South West groundworks industry and with his new British built JCB’s on the fleet and more likely to be added, I was keen to get Matt’s thoughts on the house groundworks side of things during these strange political times we find ourselves in at the moment, Matt said, “We are still busy and the enquiries for new work are busier than ever which a positive sign given the current economic climate. Developers aren’t showing any signs of slowing up at present so we hope this continues. There’s no doubt about it that Brexit and conversations around the General election are causing some unsettlement but not enough to cause any slowdown. There is still a strong demand within the housing market and the supply is not keeping up with the demand so the signs are there to keep pushing on!”

*Editors note. This article was written before the current COVID-19 virus outbreak, opinions and outlook going forward may differ slightly.