With tractors the traditional workhorse of agriculture, and excavators at the forefront of construction equipment, it is rare to see these machines interact. But a Scottish contractor has harnessed the power of both to drive its diverse business operations on the west coast of Scotland.
Shaun Sinclair, along with his wife Sarah, set up the business, originally called Sinclair Plant & Contracting Ltd in 2003 – initially tackling small local forestry projects for the Forestry Commission – but the company is rooted in four generations of farming and farm contracting expertise.
Their children, Scott and Kirsty, now also work in the business full-time and help to manage Sinclair Plant Ltd’s continuous flow of construction projects, whilst also running a small livestock farm and undertaking occasional farm contracting work.
Central to this diverse workload are the family business’s latest investments: a JCB 140X, JCB 220X and a JCB Fastrac which have all been kitted out in stunning black livery and bearing the words P. A. Sinclair as a nod to Shaun’s father and also the name of the family’s farm and contracting business which is run by Kirsty.
But this eye-catching JCB fleet doesn’t just look the part, it is proving an effective, efficient and productive addition to the company’s line up and is already working hard on a range of projects.
An Xcellent investment
The tracked excavator is a stalwart of any quality construction company, and the ever-popular JCB X Series range boasts some of the best machines on the market. So much so, that Sinclair Plant Ltd, bought not just one but two machines in its most recent order: a 14-tonne 140X and a 20-tonne 220X.
The excavators are currently working in tandem on a housing project near the company’s headquarters in Oban – breaking rock with a hydraulic hammer to create a 6-metre-deep area for a swimming pool, and then using a hydraulic powered crushing bucket to crush the excavated stone for use onsite.
Scott Sinclair said: “The JCB 220 X is a really comfortable machine to operate over a long shift. You can see JCB have put a lot of thought into its cab design and it is very well-liked by myself and other operators that I speak to. The machine has plenty of performance in all areas, including its ability to climb steep embankments or get the machine to the top of our rock pile, and it's also very smooth to operate.
We’ve had plenty of opportunity to experience the great flow from the auxiliary hydraulic circuit, as we've been pecking away at this hard rock with a hydraulic hammer for a good number of weeks. It also has plenty of hydraulic flow to operate this large hydraulic crushing bucket and other hydraulic attachments. Overall, if I was to score the 220X’s performance, it would be a 10/10 from me.”
On track to success
As a family-run business which has been operating for over two decades, family is at the heart of what Sinclair Plant Ltd do, and the teamwork between brother and sister duo Scott and Kirsty allows projects to run seamlessly.
Once Scott has crushed and stockpiled the stone using his trusty JCB 220X, Kirsty and her JCB Fastrac 4220 with tipping trailer are called in to move the stone around the site as required.
The effortless collaboration between the siblings is matched by the smooth integration between the JCB kit as the 220X can load directly into the tipping trailer either directly from the crushed stockpiles of stone, or by holding the crusher bucket directly over the tipper body and crushing directly into the skip.