PLANTBRIEF

First Komatsu PC160-6s for Fox.

Fox Plant, the Lincoln-based plant hirer, has taken delivery of three new Komatsu PC160-6 excavators from dealer Marubeni-Komatsu. According to Fox Plant: "Although the new Komatsus weigh just 17t they are matching a competitor's 20t model out in the real-world on site.

When you are moving 300,000m3 of muck as we are at Winterton Landfill Site that's important," said a spokesman.



Barcom launches in North

Barcom has launched a new plant hire company, Northway, which is designed to serve the north of England. Based in Oldham, Lancashire (but destined to expand throughout the north) Northway has signed-up to a 68-machine, œ4 million deal with CAT dealer Finning. It has bought 50 more 428Cs, four D400-E and four D350-E adts, three 771D rigid quarry trucks and a 350LME face shovel as well as a number of smaller excavators. Barcom (which operates through six other plant hire names) says that it "is now the largest operator of CAT 428C backhoe loaders in the UK."

Trench cover is clever

Protekt-a-trench from Zweva is a low-density, high-strength polyethylene board designed to protect reinstated trenches before they are finally finished. The boards are designed to sit in the trench on top of the foam concrete backfill but before the final surface is laid. Initially produced in a 450mm width to suit the most-used trench width the 2m-long boards are now to be introduced as a 1200mm square version designed to suit manhole excavations.

New tyres reduce punctures

Southam Tyres has introduced new wheel and tyre assemblies intended for 4x4 vehicles. The assemblies differ from the norm in that they feature heavy-duty tubeless type tyres. According to Southam: "Normally 4x4s feature tubed tyres and these are subject to high damage once a puncture takes place. In fact they're often a write-off before the vehicle can be brought to a safe halt. Now we can offer 4x4 users a safer alternative which has been shown to cut unexpected deflation by up to 40 per cent."

Komatsu turns in profit gains for '97

Komatsu, the world's second-largest construction equipment manufacturer, has turned in profits of more than œ89 million (up by 27 per cent) on a turnover increased by 10 per cent to œ5.5 billion. Construction equipment accounts for around 70 per cent of total turnover at some œ3.56 billion which is an 11.5 per cent increase over last year's figures. That means Komatsu has recorded both turnover and profit rises for each of the past three years.