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S P E C I A L R E P O R T: H O U S E B U I L D I N G
THE HOME MAKERS O
n a site that’s already surrounded with some decidedly upmarket examples of new build design, Dave Hodges, Managing Director of DHC Services, is making a telling contribution of his own, and his two Kobelco excavators are fittingly sophisticated tools for a high-end setting. Supplied by Molson Group, DHC Services has been living with these distinctive and strikingly blue excavators for more than twelve months and the feedback from owner and operator alike has been unrelenting positive, as Dave reveals: “It was the first time we’d invested in this manufacturer, and a lot of drivers can have reservations from moving away from what they used to, but our guys took to them straight away.” The Mackenzie Miller Homes scheme consists of seven units, with an attenuation tank, associated drainage and traditional foundations all part of the DHC Services package of works. The initial deep excavations were a job for the largest excavator in the contractor’s fleet, a Kobelco SK210, including the installation of that attenuation tank, and connecting storm drain, as well as the groundworks for the roads and all the cut and fill. As a nimbler and more versatile unit, the SK140SRLC-7 has been charged with completing the plot foundations at a minimum of 600mm wide and 1metre deep, with a depth
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Construction Plant News Editor, Lee Jones visits a Stratford development of luxury properties where two Kobelco excavators from Molson Group have been making themselves at home. of at least 2.1metre in an area where a large tree had been historically rooted. The compact radius design of this 14-tonner has made it a popular digger amongst housebuilders who are looking for a well-balanced solution with the necessary power, and the DHC Services unit will be in attendance through much of the
Dave Hodges, MD of DHC Services, has made his first investment in Kobleco with Molson Group
lifetime of the project. “It’s easy work for machines that are as capable as these two Kobelco units,” enthuses Dave. “The reduced swing SK140 is small enough to access tighter sites and, with plenty of power in either digging or lifting, ticks every box, whilst the blade is very useful
