Latest News
Website continues to be upgraded
Our web designers, Webfooted Designs, have been busy with the latest improvements to www.didcotplant.co.uk with the addition of photographs and equipment information in the hire catalogue section.
With the latest addition of photographs 99% of the catalogue carries a photograph. That extra 1% will be finished over the coming weeks.
The equipment information aspect of the catalogue is about two thirds complete with 100% coverage expected soon. This feature of the catalogue adds a bit of pertinent information about each item, whether it be specification information or advice about using the equipment safely.
New vehicles grace our fleet
The arrival of two new Fords upgraded our vehicle fleet at the end of November. First to arrive was a superb Transit Connect. This versatile little van was bought to replace the Mercedes Vito and will be used mainly for site maintenance visits. The second vehicle was a new Ranger pick-up truck, bought to replace the Nissan Navara 4×4. This truck will go straight into all-day-every-day delivery duties. Both vehicles were beautifully sign-written by Stuart Cook at David Charles Group of Didcot.
8.0-tonner free again
Our largest excavator, the 8-tonne Volvo ECR88, has been off hired from a long term contract in Aldermaston and is available for hire again.
New dehumidifiers
The recent bad weather and subsequent demand for dehumidifers has prompted us to increase our dehumidifier fleet with the initial purchase of three Andrews FD30s.
The FD30 is ideal for building drying, minimizing building times by creating the perfect conditions for the ‘wet’ trades such as plasterers and decorators, as well as helping with drying out after flooding and water damage situations. It is suitable for both domestic and industrial usage.
£99 + vat cordless drill
Just in are these superb 12v cordless combi drills from Makita. They come complete with three batteries and a carry case and at just £99 + vat are a genuinely good deal.
Specification
Max in steel: 10mm
Max in wood: 25mm
Max in masonry: 8mm
Torque settings: 16
Max wood screw: No.10
Weight: 1.6kg
Charging time: 30 mins
Featured Equipment
Temporary fencing
We offer temporary fencing solutions for a multitude of situations. Whether you need a short term or a long term fencing solution we can offer a product and service to suit your needs and budget.
Temporary Fence Panels
3.5m x 2.0m fence panel system is the industry staple. These anti-climb panels are joined using rubber feet and clips to give a good semi-permanent fencing solution to construction sites and events where security is a major issue.
Hire Rates: The price to hire temporary fence panels is linked directly to quantity and/or hire period. For a competitive quote call us on 01235 814000 or email info@didcotplant.co.uk
Low level barriers
These 2.5m long, 1.1m high multiple usage barriers provide an excellent compliment to our temporary site fencing line.
Whereas the temporary fencing has site security as one of its main applications, the low level barriers tackle situations where safety is a priority. This might be to provide pedestrian and vehicular safety from excavations or other site works.
They are also ideal for pedestrian demarcation and control typically faced by the events industry.
The barriers are a one-piece design with heavy gauge tubular feet, welded in an offset position. They are joined together with a locking hook and eye system. This makes it almost impossible to violate the barriers integrity until removal is required.
Hire Rates: Low level barriers have a list price of £2 per week each + vat. This price is negotiable depending on quantity and/or length of hire. For a competitive quote call us on 01235 814000 or email info@didcotplant.co.uk
Guard Barriers
Each 2.0m x 1.0m 14kg section is moulded from High Density Polyetholene (HDPE) for impact strength and durability making it last up to six times longer than conventional rigid PVC barriers. The two built-in thermoplastic feet swivel 360 degrees allowing for panels to be easily stacked for storage and transportation.
Conforming to all mandatory regulations the guard barrier system is ideal for a variety of work applications as well as crowd control and pedestrian demarcation situations. Each panel has the ability to stand alone or link to other panels to form a temporary wall.
Hire Rates: Guard barriers have a list price of £5 per week each + vat. This price is negotiable depending on quantity and/or length of hire. For a competitive quote call us on 01235 814000 or email info@didcotplant.co.uk
From Our Catalogue – New Items Added in 2007
Portable fume extraction
New to our range in August was portable fume extraction.
Suitable for many working scenarios these 31cm diameter units can be used to cool, ventilate or extract clean or dirty air from both restricted and open environments at a rate of 3250 cubic metres per hour.
The fume extractor comes with 5m of ducting as standard but additional 5m lengths can be added to the hire.
GRP road plates and trench covers
New to our range in April were GRP Road Plates and Trench Covers.
Road Plates have traditionally been made out of steel which made them very heavy and difficult to handle but these new products are made out of Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) and are a fraction of the weight of their steel equivalents. Despite being much lighter they do not lose any of their strength either.
Heavy duty road plate
The Heavy Duty Plate measures 1400mm x 1400mm and weighs 47kg, making it suitable for two men to carry. It will support cars and loaded HGV’s travelling across road openings and trenches with a maximum width of 700mm. Each of the four edges is chamfered to minimise potential tyre damage.
Light duty trench cover
The Trench Cover is designed for lighter uses where nothing heavier than a car will be passing over the opening (max. 700mm width). It measures 1200mm x 1000mm and weighs just 16kg making it a comfortable one man carry.
8.0-tonne digger
At the start of the year we added a Volvo ECR88 8.2 tonne mini excavator on rubber tracks.
The ECR88 provides large excavator technology and performance in a more compact package. At just 2300mm wide and 2680mm high, but with a digging depth of 4870mm, the ECR88 reaches the jobs heavier machines cannot.
Laser level
In October we added a CST/Berger LMH-CU Automatic Self-Levelling Rotary Laser Level.
The LMH-CU can handle the toughest of indoor and outdoor jobs with less manpower. It levels itself via electronic sensors interfaced with motors, eliminating the need for re-levelling or rechecks. It is fitted with an Anti-Drift System sensor which alerts the operator if the laser’s ‘height of instrument’ is altered due to tripod movement or an accidental bump.
The LMH-CU joins our existing surveying range that includes the Automatic Optical (Dumpy) Level and the traditional Cowley Level.
Matthew Tarrant
A busy year
Firstly, I would like to wish you a happy and prosperous 2008.
2007 was an amazing year for us at Didcot Plant. It was our most successful year to date and one where we put the foundations in place for even greater success down the line. But if 2007 is to be remembered for one thing only it would have to be for the unprecedented amount of investment we put into the hire fleet. This investment included amongst other things ten new excavators and twelve new dumpers. Our policy in ’07 was to feed demand and to grow the hire fleet to be in a position to serve every potential order. This meant branching into some new areas (see New items added in 2007 article) and offering the widest range of equipment we have ever offered. We made considerable effort in ’07 to listen to what our customers wanted and to react to what we heard. This policy will continue in 2008. If we consider a hire line to be manageable and suitably profitable we will add it to our range.
2007 saw some big changes to the way we market ourselves with major emphasis put on our website. ww.didcotplant.co.uk enjoyed a major face lift in ’07 and continued to receive improvements throughout the year. The most important aspect of the website is the catalogue and this area received the most attention with the inclusion of photographs and additional specification information. A system allowing for online ordering and quoting was also activated making the catalogue more than just an online inventory.
Looking ahead to 2008 I can see another fruitful year for us and our clients. We are committed to continue offering a superb all-round plant and tool hire service, with the emphasis on service. In an age when levels of service seem to be decreasing we will continue to make it a priority.