Ashcourt Group makes concrete investments with Liebherr

Established in 2009, the Hull-based Ashcourt Group consists of a diverse portfolio of companies covering a range of activities including property, construction, civil engineering, quarrying, plant hire, haulage and readymix concrete. The Group recognised that customers today are seeking a contractor that can deliver the complete package from pre-planning right through to completion. The fully integrated divisions of the Ashcourt Group enable it to offer a one-stop solution.

The Ashcourt Group has a wealth of experience in the construction industry and through this identified the need for an efficient, reliable, independent concrete supplier to focus on both the quality of products and the quality of customer service.

Investment in the former Robin Concrete and Waste Ltd business allowed the Group to bring the supply and pumping of concrete in-house and also provided it with a large tract of land to expand its operations further. The site at Foster Street, Hull is where the Group is now headquartered with all facets of the organisation under one roof.

The concrete side of the Ashcourt Group’s business has been gradually modernising and expanding since the takeover in 2015. The company has invested heavily with Liebherr-Great Britain Ltd on the purchase of a range of mixers, concrete pumps and a static batching plant. “The area around Hull has traditionally been served by a number of small independent concrete suppliers with the majority of larger national companies staying away from the area,” comments Ashcourt Group’s Concrete Manager Steve Walsh. “Whilst the decision for the Group to enter the concrete market was to service our own requirements, we have a third of our annual concrete production going to outside contractors. We are looking to bring this closer to a 50-50 split as some of our larger projects come online.”

Having decided to standardise its mixer barrels by selecting a single manufacturer and following recommendations from other users, Liebherr was approached to supply the first of the company’s fleet replacements and additions. “At the time of upgrading the fleet we were open to quotes from all manufacturers,” explains Mr Walsh. “From my previous experience and industry comments, Liebherr was seen as the best manufacturer of mixer barrels available in the UK. The standardisation across our fleet makes it easier from a maintenance point of view, meaning we only have to have a single point of contact when it comes to sorting any issues out.”

Favouring Volvo truck chassis throughout its other business arms, the Group purchased a number of chassis cabs from its local dealer before delivering them to Liebherr at Biggleswade for fitment of the HTM 704 and HTM 804 truckmixer bodies. Excellent build quality and reliability from the Liebherr mixer bodies over the three years they have been in use has seen the company return to Liebherr for a further 8 mixers to be mounted on Volvo FMX and FE chassis. “The operating system is straightforward and the drivers find them easy to use. Everything is well made and the installation on the chassis is first class. They are exactly what we want from a mixer,” said Mr Walsh.

The mixer bodies are not the only purchase the company has made from Liebherr with Ashcourt Group recently taking delivery of a 37 Z4 XXT truck-mounted concrete pump on an 8 x 4 Mercedes chassis. Capable of a vertical reach of 38 m and horizontal reach of 32.8 m, the unit is fitted with Liebherr’s XXT variable outrigger system that enables the machine to operate where conventional pumps cannot. The 37 Z4 XXT has the ability to deliver over 100 m3 per hour and can pump to a working range of 70% including over the operator’s cab, a feature unique to Liebherr. The introduction of the pump into the fleet has benefitted the construction side of the company as it can now provide the delivery of concrete and pumping services from a single source.

The company has recently commissioned its largest purchase from Liebherr in the shape of a Betomix 2.5 batching plant with a capability of over 100 m3 per hour. The plant was commissioned in January 2017 and allows the company to offer a more consistent and reliable service to its clients. The new batching plant will also offer savings on running costs as the efficient technology built into the installation means a lower cost per m3 produced while offering the flexibility of high volume capabilities.

According to Steve Walsh the high quality of the Liebherr products runs through the whole product line and that includes the back-up and service. “We have had very minor issues with the pump and batching plant but the way that Liebherr has attended to the faults reflects its high level of customer service,” Mr Walsh concluded.