IT’S BEEN NEARLY FIVE YEARS SINCE AINSCOUGH CRANE HIRE FEATURED IN HEAVYTORQUE AND IN THAT TIME, THE WORLD HAS UNDERGONE PLENTY OF CHANGES. HEAVYTORQUE FINDS OUT HOW THE COMPANY HAS EVOLVED IN THE POST-COVID WORLD
Given the challenges of a pandemic, rising costs, and the need for greater fleet-wide efficiency, any company that has made it through the last five years relatively unscathed is to be applauded. And one such business is Ainscough Crane Hire, which is building up to its 50th anniversary celebrations in 2026.
Since it was founded in 1976, this operator has grown from six small cranes and a van to more than 350 cranes and over 150 trucks, vans and smaller items of plant. What’s more, Ainscough Crane Hire – recognised as having the largest heavy cranes division in the country – now boasts a national network of 30 locations with a workforce of more than 900.
One of the key figures in the business is Chris Britton, who is head of operations support and was previously the general manager of the heavy cranes and transport division. “I changed my role about 12 months ago and now I’m concerned with looking after and developing strategy, policy and agenda to ensure that service delivery for our operational guys is up to scratch,” explains Chris.
POWER NETWORK POLE ERECTION IS A GROWTH BUSINESS THAT HAS BEEN BOOSTED BY THE COUNTRY'S PLANS FOR MORE ELECTRIC VEHICLES. AND THAT SUITS CORNISH FIRM EJ FRY TRANSPORT & PLANT HIRE RATHER WELL, AS HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS
Unrelenting pressure by government to force us all into electric cars, vans and trucks to reduce harmful emissions means that more electricity will have to be generated to keep those vehicles running.
Much of that electricity will be transmitted by a growing network of overhead power lines connecting wind farms to major urban areas – and while the prospect of more and more pylons marching across the countryside may horrify some people, it is not unpopular with everybody.
An increase in the construction of overhead power cables will certainly benefit family company EJ Fry Transport & Plant Hire, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2024. Based out in the Cornish countryside on a 0.75-acre site at a quaintly-named location called Clump Of Trees between Launceston and Bude, it specialises in hiring out 4×4 pole erection lorries to firms that build and maintain power lines. In addition, it hires out a variety of specialist items of plant to the same customers, including tracked and wheeled excavators, telehandlers and tracked mobile elevating work platforms.
Growth has been rapid in recent times, and shows no sign of slackening. Four and a half years ago, the company had 26 trucks on its books, and now it boasts 100. It had 50 pieces of plant listed back then, meanwhile, and can now offer 500.
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A R BANKS HAS COME A LONG WAY SINCE IT STARTED OUT ALMOST 15 YEARS AGO, AS THE PARTNERS BEHIND IT HAVE TAKEN THE HAMPSHIRE FIRM FROM SIMPLE TIPPER OPERATION TO MANAGING PROJECTS OF ALL SIZES WITH AN IMPRESSIVE HEAVY HAULAGE FLEET. HEAVYTORQUE FINDS OUT MORE
The husband-and-wife team behind Hampshire-based A R Banks have changed things a bit since the company was formed in late 2011.
The operation started out with tippers working for the big aggregate companies with numerous operations on the south coast. This eventually led to a crane-equipped rigid to deliver bulk bags, which in turn heralded a move to bigger cranes to offer lifting, transport and installation services. Later on, these were joined by some artics for moving heavier loads and the firm’s own plant for its in-house groundworks division, and these days, A R Banks offers a comprehensive range of services that allow it to handle the organisation and management of projects of all sizes.
Speaking at the firm’s depot on the outskirts of Fareham, in Hampshire, founder and director Stuart Banks is happy to tell us more about the company’s development and the challenges he and his wife Sarah have faced.
“I started with tippers with an 8-wheeler, working for Tarmac as a franchisee. It was a good pathway into the industry at the time, but I don’t think it is quite as attractive any more,” he says. “Back then, there was a bit of a shortage of transport in the area, and we were able to start running at night doing road resurfacing work. My dad drove at night, and I did the daytime shift.
HEAVYTORQUE TRACES THE HISTORY OF VOLVO'S HEAVY HAULAGE OFFERINGS IN THE UK OVER THE YEARS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF ITS AUTOMATED I-SHIFT FOR THIS SECTOR, FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS UP TO ITS LATEST INCARNATION IN THE NEW FH16 780
Volvo has been in the UK’s heavy haulage market for six decades now, first coming to the attention of British operators in the late 1960s.
Initially, its diminutive F86 was of limited appeal for heavy work, but some operators used them with lowloaders. A few months later, it launched the F88 with its tall, well equipped sleeper cab and a design gross weight of 48 tons as a 4×2 tractor, which could be increased to 70 tons with a hub reduction drive axle. It was available in 4×2 and 6×2 form with a hydraulically lifting tag axle.
A year or two later, a 6×4 version was introduced, with tandem hub reduction drive axles and heavy-duty two- spring steel suspension. A factory rating of 100/110 tons with the lower ratio axles heralded a new dimension to heavy haulage in the UK. Despite its capacity of just 9.6 litres, the TD100A engine used a turbocharger to produce 235/240hp, which was quite a bit of power for that era.
Many drivers were used to bigger capacity naturally aspirated engines in British trucks that often produced under 200hp. The Volvo needed to be worked to perform, but the 8-speed synchromesh range-change gearbox made this easy enough, and the F88 was a pleasure to drive, with a comfortable cab, low noise levels, light power steering and a good field of vision.
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OFFSHORE ENERGY SERVICES PROVIDER SUBSEA7 HAS A LOT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT AS IT REGULARLY MOVES THE MASSIVE PIPELINE TOWHEADS USED BY THE NORTH SEA OIL AND GAS SECTOR THROUGH THE SCOTTISH TOWN OF WICK AND BEYOND, WRITES HEAVYTORQUE
Painstakingly inching a towhead through the narrow streets of Wick in the far north of Scotland – often using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) with bolster turntables – requires infinite care and endless patience. A steel manifold that can weigh up to 300 tonnes, a towhead is not the easiest of structures to manoeuvre across the Caithness coastal town.
Specialising in the delivery of offshore energy projects and services, Subsea7 is no stranger to the challenges involved, however, and residents are familiar with the sight of these huge pieces of metal inching past their front doors. Four towheads have been escorted through Wick over the past few months and well over 170 have been on the same journey in previous years.
“As many as 14 have been moved in a single year,” comments Subsea7 project manager, Craig Brown.
A towhead sits at each end of a pipeline bundle destined for use in the North Sea’s oil and gas fields. Incorporating piping and valves along with monitoring, control and chemical injection equipment, it allows the bundle to be towed into position by tugs. Subsea7 has the towheads it uses constructed by Global Energy Group at its 17,000 square metre fabrication site at the port of Nigg, 75 miles to the south of Wick. Once completed, they are lifted onto a barge, transported to Wick’s north harbour, then craned off on their arrival.
E QUINN CONTRACTS’ ONE YEAR-OLD FH 540 GLOBETROTTER TAG LOOKS A PICTURE AND DRIVES LIKE A DREAM, DESPITE THE DEMANDING ROAD-PLANER MOVEMENTS IT’S USED FOR, AS HEAVYTORQUE REPORTS
Edmond Quinn started up his company in Northern Ireland “many moons ago”, laughs grandson Ronan, the third generation of the family involved in the business. There are two Quinn companies: E Quinn Contracts, which deals with road-planing and sweeping; and E Quinn Civils, which focuses on groundworks and utilities. There can be some crossover between the operations, naturally, with pipes and water mains often located underneath roads or other areas of tarmac.
Planing is the process of removing the top layer of asphalt, prior to either digging down further to access things below the road or renewing the surface. Quinn’s runs 11 planers which cover everything from residential pathways, pavements and driveways up to main roads and motorways.
Edmond senior started off with a small planer that could cut tracks in the surface to allow pipes to be laid, and he got busy quickly and began adding more equipment.
Today, the smallest planer can cut 350mm while the largest can remove sections of road 2 metres wide. Planers in the 600-1,000mm range are towed behind 8-wheel tippers equipped with VBG couplings and Andover trailers. They have special tipper bodies with slanted sides to allow for clearance when turning with the planer on the trailer.
The firm’s three larger 2-metre planers, however, are moved around using a pair of Volvo FH tractor units. The older of the two is a version four FH 500 that was picked up used, while the second one is a 2024 FH 540 Globetrotter tag, driven by Ronan.
