Leading hirer Lomond Plant has bought nearly 100 new JCB machines in a massive deal worth £5.5 million.
The Falkirk-based firm has purchased the models to support its ambitious expansion plans, which have already seen growth in to the North West of England - with depots in Yorkshire and the Midlands set to follow.
In total, Lomond Plant has ordered 98 new JCB machines, including 18 of the brand new13-tonne JS131 tracked excavator models which have been purpose built for the rental sector.
These join further excavators ranging from 1.5 to 22 tonnes, JCB site dumper models from 3 to 9 tonnes and multiple 3CX backhoe loaders in the massive deal.
Lomond Plant’s Joint Managing Director, Ross Easton said: “The JS131 has clearly been specifically designed for the rental market and is absolutely ticking the right boxes in that respect. They bring the huge benefit of no Ad Blue requirement without any power reduction on general hire applications.
“We’ve also introduced the new 48Z-1 mini excavator model to our fleet. JCB’s new generation 86C-1 and 85Z-1 have been excellent for us with reduced fuel consumption and better visibility. So when those same benefits were introduced on 4-5-tonne models it was the natural choice.
“We continue to expand our coverage across the UK and these machines will enhance the offering at each of our depots. We continue to use exclusively JCB equipment as we get tremendous support from dealer Scot JCB and the parts availability from the JCB World Parts Centre is excellent.
“Another key bonus is JCB LiveLink. It’s a great tool which enables us to monitor plant 24/7. The fact it comes with almost all models and seamlessly links to one system works really well for us.”
The new JCB JS131 is a crawler excavator designed for rental customers – offering fantastic cost of ownership benefits. It builds on the success of JCB’s popular JS130, but is powered by a rental-specific 55kW (74hp) version of JCB’s proven Ecomax diesel engine. This fuel-efficient power unit meets Tier 4 Final (Stage IIIB) emissions standards without a diesel particulate filter (DPF) or any requirement for Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and a diesel exhaust fluid.
The 18 bought by Lomond Plant are already on hire to customers in applications such as civils, local authority work, utility work, house building and highways - including the high profile M8/M73/M74 improvements near Glasgow.
Founded in 1988, Lomond Plant provides general plant hire services – both operated and self-drive – to the construction industry from depots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Falkirk and St Helens. Customers include local authorities and major contractors and Lomond offers both short-term rentals and long term supply agreements.
The company operates an exclusively JCB fleet of over 300 items including, 1-22 tonne JCB tracked excavators and associated attachments, telehandlers, backhoe loaders, site dumpers and compaction equipment.
Fundamental to the success of its business has been the provision of high quality equipment, a pool of experienced and fully trained operators, and excellent service - including 24-hour call out for service engineers. It is in the process of applying to become RISQS approved for railway work.