Intermat 24

News

Digging deep into construction machinery news

Hyundai machines go nuclear

by Kyle Molyneux  |  Tue 07 Jan 2020

Hyundai machines go nuclear

Plantforce Rentals is currently carrying out the majority of the earthworks on the Hinkley Point C site. With over 1,000 machines and 250 attachments in the fleet, when the opportunity arose for the company to become the first plant hirer at the Hinkley project, Plantforce felt it was an opportunity too good to miss. Already working within the industry, the company was in an ideal position to be able to supply the project with personnel, machinery and the associated management structure to back them through the complicated project.

“Forming part of our fleet on the Hinkley site are 15 Hyundais – we have a range of wheeled machines including ‘ducks’ and loading shovels, in addition to tracked excavators ranging from 14 to 52 tonnes,” said Plantforce Marketing Manager, Dale Hawkins. One of the larger items on the Plantforce stock list at Hinkley is a Hyundai HX520LC, complete with a huge, Geith fixed-leg rock grab. With the earthworks almost at an end, one of the tasks set for the mammoth Hyundai was completing a section of rock armour installation. Thanks to the decent road conditions on the Hinkley site and the fact that much of the work is now undertaken on good ground, Plantforce also supplied a number of Hyundai wheeled excavators into the project. The company runs a number of 14- to 17-tonne models with the latest addition being an HW160 complete with Engcon tilt-rotator.

Working alongside Plantforce, Leica Geosystems and Optical Survey Hire, Hinkley Point has in effect created an ‘information superhighway’ by connecting all the machines on site via GPS. “This means that from any point on the site an operator can dial his or her machine into the system and commence work without the need for an engineer to come and set up profile boards,” Dale explained. “The project still has a number of engineers who will regularly double-check the works, but the installation of the system has been a massive success and has significantly reduced the amount of over dig resulting in the management of less material

Got a news story? Email news@earthmoversmagazine.co.uk.

 

Loads more