Ashbrook invests in £10 million fleet renewal with JCB
One of the leading plant hirers in England and Wales has invested in a massive fleet of 500 new JCB machines in a deal worth in excess of £10 million.
ASHBROOK, which has headquarters in Congleton, Cheshire has taken delivery of the machines as part of a major move to renew and further enhance the safety of its fleet. The fleet includes 220 new JCB site dumpers along with 250 Loadall telescopic handlers, ranging from 4-20 metres, including agricultural models. ASHBROOK has also added JCB 926 and 930 rough terrain forklifts, 3CX backhoe loaders, Teletruks and wheeled loading shovels.
ASHBROOK worked closely with its local JCB dealers - Gunn JCB for construction equipment and J D Bownes Ltd for agricultural machines - to specify the new additions to its fleet.
Commercial Director Mike Ashbrook said: “Following ongoing expansion since 2016, we have set about ensuring that our fleet is one of the safest and most modern in the country. The site dumpers in particular – many of which feature JCB’s SiTESAFE cab and forward-facing camera system - mark a huge step forward in on site safety. They provide significant visibility gains and operator feedback confirms this to be a massive safety improvement over previous audio warning systems.
“They are also more productive, because thanks to the FOPS/ROPS cab, there is less time climbing on and off the machine during loading operations. The operators are safer and our hire customers are happier as they get the benefit of a more comfortable, safer and more productive workforce.
“The longstanding relationship with our JCB dealers is superb. Gunn JCB supports us with a service contract across the dealer network which complements our own field service team to maximise response times. Working together we also ensure all machines are serviced at the recommended intervals to ensure superb productivity and reliability. Both ours and the JCB field engineers go above and beyond to ensure the end user is never let down. We also maximise the LiveLink telematics system to aid preventative maintenance and detect any potential issues in advance.
“JCB is the market leader in telescopic handlers and the company shares our family-business ethos. By buying the best equipment and taking pride in the fleet, we are able to offer our customers true value and quality.”
Designed and built in-house and leading an industry-wide focus on forward tipping dumpers, the JCB range takes site dumper safety to a previously unachievable level. They are compliant with the latest safety legislation, including ISO 5006:2017 and the 6-9-tonne models boast the JCB SiTESAFE cab. This ROPS/FOPS Level II cab features a reinforced frame and impact protective front screen.
Each 6-9-tonne machine is equipped with a front camera to increase visibility, along with a sequenced drive-inhibit system to ensure that operators are correctly seated and secure before driving. Each also benefits from a manufacturer-backed two-year warranty and all-steel construction.