A machine built to celebrate the 70th birthday of the JCB backhoe loader is set to play a major role in training the operators of the future. Sheffield-based K-Plant Hire has taken delivery of one of the first platinum edition JCB backhoe loaders.
The firm, a plant hirer and groundworks contractor for local authorities and private sector companies across South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire, also runs an operator training business. It is for this division that the new platinum edition backhoe loader, supplied by dealer TC Harrison JCB, will be deployed – as the perfect high specification machine to develop the skills of young plant operators in training.
K-Plant Hire owner, Mark Kay said: “The beauty of the backhoe loader is that it is so versatile. There is nothing on a site that you can’t do with them. They do everything our customers want and all the operators love them. They have plenty of power, they’re comfortable, the durability is excellent. It’s simply a great all-round machine so we feel it is really important that operators entering the industry develop the skills to operate them, including the servo controls, and can truly maximise their potential.
“We were delighted to secure one of these limited-edition models as it stands out from the crowd and gives us something rare and different in the fleet. The machine definitely looks the part when training and gives us a high specification machine that is perfect to get the youngsters trained up on.
“We’ve used JCBs since we started – we’ve always found them reliable and comfortable, and we receive perfect customer service from TC Harrison JCB every time, with brilliant back-up and parts availability. We also love that JCBs are manufactured here as we like to buy British where we can.”
