Barford to increase dumper output at Grantham facility

Dumper specialist Barford is increasing production capacity at its Grantham factory to 4,000 units per year by adding a second production line and changing its procedures.

Last year, the company built around 2,000 machines on a single line and this will grow to around 2,800 machines this year as the second line comes on stream. "The production workforce has almost doubled over the past nine months in readiness for the line opening," said Barford's managing director Niall Wordsworth.

"Production is split between light and heavy machines and we have changed our production system to cater for the increased throughput," he added.

Each line has the capacity to produce eight machines per day and total output is currently running at 12 machines per day. "Our orderbooks are full and we have no intention of disappointing our customers or keeping them waiting any longer than necessary," said Wordsworth.

The first of Barford's 10t swivel skip units are starting to come off the production line, as are the first of the hydrostatic drive units that will eventually be offered as an alternative to all models over 5t. The tracked unit displayed at SED is still under evaluation but should be available by September or October.

Barford now installs a 75kW Iveco engine in its 5t and 6t dumpers, which Wordsworth said gives a power advantage over its competitors. Stage IIIa engines will start to come on-line in September.

"This is our second major investment in less than two years and is a measure of the confidence we have in the market.

"We now firmly believe we are leading the way," Wordsworth said.