SITE VISIT // WILLIAMS PLANT HIRE
SCRAPING SOFT SITE SURFACES
Paul Argent reports from a site near Liverpool where a mass muck-shifting project is being conducted by a new Ashland towed scraper ashions and trends are constantly evolving within the construction industry, sometimes not for the best! The industry has moved away from what was seen as traditional muck-shifting machinery towards excavators and dump trucks. However, depending on the length of haul and type of material, scrapers are still seen as the cheapest form of earthmoving available. While still several companies in the UK are successfully running traditional motor scrapers and tractors and boxes, the new wave of North American-manufactured towed scrapers is quickly becoming a more common sight on earthmoving projects up and down the country. One of the pioneers of this type of earthmoving is North Wales-based Williams Plant Hire. The family firm is headed by David Williams, a veteran muck-shifter and staunch supporter of the more traditional side of the industry.
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“IN THE RIGHT CONDITIONS, THERE’S NOTHING QUICKER THAN A SCRAPER”
Inset and below: The Komatsu D65PX pulling an Ashland 1410E makes a formidable combination on soft ground, as the scraper practically floats across the earth.
“We have been running towed scrapers since they first came over the water,” David commented. “In that time, we’ve seen plenty of other contractors take on products from the market leaders Ashland and K-Tec, and with that, a gradually increasing acceptance of the older methods of muck-shifting. One of the biggest issues we have faced is the disappearing number of older, more experienced operators who have grown up with this type of kit.” Williams Plant Hire operates several large tractors capable of pulling the firm’s fleet of Ashland scraper boxes.“In the right conditions, there’s nothing quicker than a scraper,” David commented. “When ground conditions start to get challenging, we are able to swap a box from the rubber-tyred Challenger over to our Komatsu D65PX dozer, which allows us to carry on where others can’t.”
SITE BACKGROUND One of the latest projects for the Williams team is on the outskirts of Formby, just north of Liverpool, where David has won a contract from one of the UK’s leading land remediation specialists, Vertase FLI, to move 20,000cu.m of soft, sandy soil to form surge piles ready for a future housing development.
JULY 2026
EARTHMOVERS