Plant in brief - 24 June 2008

Speedy Hire's pumps and compressors businesses have been pre-approved as suppliers to the utilities sector by management information specialist Achilles. Achilles' Utilities Vendor Database is used by more than 60 utilities firms for third-party procurement.

Steel erector Fitness Engineering of Kent has taken delivery of a Unimog U500 with a 3t capacity, 22m reach PM Crane. The unit overcomes the potential of delays resulting from poor ground conditions on many sites following bad weather.

Aardvark Concrete has become the UK and Irish republic distributor of the Bay-Lynx MultiCat Spreader specialist placing vehicle. The Canadian-built vehicle can spread up to 18t of materials such as stone, topsoil and sand in minutes, reaching up to 30m from the rear of the truck and eliminating double handling.

Hewden is opening a new £3m depot in Manchester to provide local customers with a single point of contact for a wide range of equipment. Having sold off its tool hire business to concentrate on plant hire, Hewden now has 104 locations across the country.

Abbey Road Tankers is saving £800 per month on fuel bills after fitting the Tiss 'Impregnable' anti-siphon device to 40 trucks. Tiss said other customers have reported 10% improvements in fuel consumption and up to 6% savings on fuel bills.

A-Plant has been awarded a Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The award reflects the outstanding contribution and ongoing support that A-Plant has provided to the hire industry.

Toolstation has opened another four sales counters as part of its expansion strategy to have 30 outlets open by the end of the year. The new premises are in Birkenhead, Poole, Reading and Warrington.