A new fleet of JCB excavators has received glowing praise for its fuel savings according to a leading Gloucestershire plant hirer.
Cirencester-based Bison Plant Hire has purchased 22 new machines – including 8085 and 8055 midi excavators and JZ140 tracked excavators – as it gears up for increased demand from its housebuilding customers. The deal is worth more than £1 million and all the machines are made at JCB's Staffordshire factories.
Plant Manager at Bison, Guy Tomblin said: “With an upturn in the general economy and the impact of government policies, there has been an upsurge in the housebuilding sector which is having a significant impact on hire equipment utilisation. As such we have made a huge investment in JCB plant – focusing on models which bring benefits to the housebuilding industry. We are big advocates of zero tailswing and fuel economy is increasingly crucial to our customers as diesel prices continue to soar. In both respects the JCB JZ140 and 8085 Eco models are excellent. Customers have been staggered by the fuel efficiency that can be achieved. They are more than happy to pay for a premium quality machine when they realise it can save them up to £60 a week on fuel.”
This view has been verified by a local groundworks contractor who recently hired a JCB 8085 Eco from Bison Plant. Alfie Stebbings, of Winstone, Gloucestershire, said: “I am amazed at the fuel economy of the 8-tonne JCB. We have used it a alongside a 3-tonne machine from another manufacturer on a drainage project. When working the same hours on similar tasks, the 8085 used less fuel per day than the 3-tonne machine. We expected the JCB to be economical but this really has surpassed our expectations.”
The JZ140 model is powered by the Tier 4i-compliant JCB Ecomax engine - developed as part of the company’s intensive fuel efficiency and emissions reduction drive which has seen JCB save its worldwide customers £130 million since 2010 - through reduced fuel use on machines. The 8085 features JCB’s Ecodig system which utilises the latest engine and hydraulic system technology to produce the most efficient midi excavator available – which fuel savings of up to 21% on previous models.
Bison Plant has provided operated and self-drive excavators for over 20 years. Offering exclusively zero tailswing models, it works with customers including: local builders, ground workers, landscapers, archaeologists and main contractors across Gloucestershire, Berkshire, Bristol, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire.
As well as the addition of the new JCB excavators, Bison has recently expanded into new purpose built premises and introduced further mobile service engineers to support its growing plant hire fleet.