Fencing and agricultural contractor, Hurn Bridge Fencing (HGF), decided to swap out its old trusty tractor in favour of a more modern, slimmer and altogether more versatile machine. Its model of choice, explains Director Lawrence Wickham, was Yanmar Compact Equipment EMEA (Yanmar)’s SV26 Conventional Tail excavator – and the company hasn’t looked back since.
HGF calls home the picturesque town of Christchurch, on the Dorset coast, where agriculture is the historic mainstay of the region’s rural communities. Born of farming stock himself, Lawrence joined his father seven years ago and together founded HGF, specialising in building, installing and maintaining different types of fences; predominantly for farms, but also for residential and commercial properties.
“When researching excavators, we found that the SV26 is a lot more versatile than others on the market, which is exactly what we need. We’re only a team of four, and therefore depend on a machine that can wear many hats and keep up the pace with our diverse day-to-day activities,” explains Wickham.
Multi-Tasking
As is often the case for countryside contractors, HGF is required to get involved in a mixed bag of groundworks, trenching and various agricultural projects, alongside its fencing activities. The company fits its SV26 unit with various attachments in order to do so, making this single multifaceted tool carrier the backbone of many of the team’s tasks:
“The great thing about the SV26 is that it can be fitted with a ton of different attachments – not only your typical buckets for groundworks and digging trenches, which most are familiar with, but also wire rollers and post drivers for erecting fences. We even fit our Yanmar unit with a rock spike, which is great when we need to firmly position our fencing posts in hard or rocky ground.”
With an operating weight of 2,740 kg, class-leading stability and low ground pressure, the SV26 has also proven highly beneficial for HGF’s projects on rough, uneven or unstable terrain. The machine benefits from a conventional structure with reduced tail overhang, which gives it increased lifting performance and stability in even challenging work environments. In addition, a long track base adds to digging stability and lifting capacity, while the 300 mm wide tracks offer excellent traction.
“Due to the compactness and weight of the SV26, we can also easily work on steep inclines or boggy areas without scuffing up the areas too much with the tracks. Whereas with larger excavators or tractors, we have found that they can weigh a lot and sink into the ground, especially when it’s wet. The arm is also a good length (1150 / 1400 mm), helping us to carry out our projects safely and with ease”.
Wickham purchased his Yanmar unit from Hunt Forest Group, a long-standing approved Yanmar dealer also situated in Devon, not 30 minutes away from HGF’s facilities.
“The work we do is tough and I like the physicality of it,” Wickham shares. “But having a machine that can alleviate the manual strain of digging holes and breaking up rocks has made a big difference to efficiency of our work. We’re really happy with our decision to purchase the SV26, and the support provided to us by Hunt Forest Group”.
