EXCAVATOR BASED
Big Business
W L Straughan & Son see the wood
for the trees with Hyundai fleet24 MAY 2018 FORESTRYJOURNAL.CO.UKW
L Straughan & Son, based in Bedlington, South
East Northumberland, is a family-run business,
headed up by Phil and Denise Straughan.
Established for over 30 years, and employing
45 people, the company specialises in a wide
range of services including site clearance, environmental
projects and forestry work. The firm also has a plant-hire
arm, offering machines for short- and long-term hire.
Customers include local government, highways
agencies and civil engineering companies such as
Balfour Beattie. The company is also top of the framework
for Northumberland County Council for operated plant
throughout the county. Another of Straughan’s big clients
is the Forestry Commission, which led the company to
Cumbria-based Hyundai dealer Taylor & Braithwaite (T&B)
and the Hyundai brand.
Forestry work is big business for the company. Gary
Miller is W L Straughan’s project manager and is
responsible for the day-to-day running of the business,
working alongside general manager Danny Straughan.
Gary said, “We do a lot of site-clearance work, which is one
of the main reasons we first went to Taylor & Braithwaite
for the Hyundai machines.”
Gary added, “Forestry work and site-clearance projects
need machines that offer four-way hydraulics, which are
necessary for using the attachments we use, which include
tree shears, cone splitters, stump grinders and selector
grabs. The Hyundai excavators fitted the bill and make
light work of even the largest of trees. These machines
can negotiate even the most difficult of terrains. They also
perform well on smaller-scale contracts.”
The company has nine Hyundai machines in its fleet and
estimates that it has invested around £450K in the Hyundai
brand – all purchased from Taylor & Braithwaite. The
Straughan fleet ranges in size from 2-tonne to 14.5-tonne.
The latest Hyundai machines purchased were the 14-tonne
HX140 L and the 2.5-tonne R25Z-9AK mini excavator. The
company did have a 22-tonne Hyundai excavator for a
windfarm contract but traded it in as they had more use for
a 14-tonne machine.
Gary reported, “We are very happy with the
performance of the machines, especially the new HX140.
There were a few of our operators who were loyal to a
competing brand which we previously used to run, but
they are now all Hyundai converts! All of our operators
have reported that the Hyundais seem to have more power
than other machines.
“Fuel consumption is good, and we find the machines
economic to run. One of the best features is the Hi-Mate
system which we like very much. With Hi-Mate we can
monitor the machines at all times, especially when the
machines are out on hire – we know what they are beingused for and when.”
Hi-Mate, Hyundai’s recently developed remote
management system, utilises GPS-satellite technology to
provide users with a high level of service and product
support. It is available for both excavators and loaders.
The system enables users to remotely evaluate machine
performance, access diagnostic information, and verify
machine locations at the touch of a button. Users are
also able to access detailed information regarding the
machine’s daily operating history which is available on the
daily report section. Included in this report are: an hour
meter, engine hours, fuel remaining, time of key-on and
key-off, and machine location visible on a digital map.
Users can also program a virtual geo-fence to prevent
the machine from leaving a specified geographic area.
Once geo-fencing is set, a red circle is visible around
the machine icon on the map. If the machine is moved
outside the geo-fence boundary, an alarm is triggered and
submitted to Hi-mate, notifying the user.
Gary also spoke about the All-Around View Monitoring
(AAVM) system. He said, “We are finding the AAVM
system very useful, especially on the construction sites
we work on. Contractors are asking for this type of safety
system more and more – in fact there are many contractorsAbove left: The 360 tree
shears in action.Above: The Doppstadt
shredder handles all the
green waste.Right: A recent
footbridge installation.