JCB has become the equipment provider of choice for rapidly expanding Bedfordshire groundworks and civil engineering contractor ECL Civil Engineering Ltd The company has recently added another 22 tonne JS220 crawler machine to a fleet of more than 27 JCB excavators, including JS130, JZ145 and JS220 models.

“When JCB supplied a JS130 to us a few years ago I was over the moon with the machine,” says director and co-owner Sean Hoare. “The build quality, hydraulic performance and cab environment have all improved over the last few years and continue to do so.”

Sean took over the running of ECL from his father in 2006, at a time when the company ran just a handful of machines. He joined forces with co-director Steve Tysoe in 2010, building the level of expertise within the company. An experienced excavator operator himself, Sean appreciates the performance and productivity of the JS range and has built the company around that excavator fleet. This has resulted in rapid expansion, with turnover jumping from £800,000 in 2007 to an expected £15 million this year. This has been achieved by building strong working relationships with many major housebuilding companies across the South East and the Midlands.

“The recession hasn’t affected us as it has others, as the big firms were contracting in size, we were able to compete for their work and we don’t have the overheads that other companies have,” says Sean. “We like to build relationships, both with our clients and with our suppliers. We’ve invested in JCB and they have invested in us. When you are growing you need support and JCB has certainly supported us.”

All of the machines have been supplied by local dealer Watling JCB, with funding through JCB Finance. The dealer will provide a full repair and maintenance back-up service to ECL throughout a planned four year operating period. The JS excavators have been ordered in Contractor specification, with air conditioning, auxiliary piping, a rear facing camera and full cab guards. They also come with a twin-lock quick hitch to allow rapid changes of buckets and attachments.

With a busy order book ECL is looking at further expansion this year, as housebuilders continue to return to sites across the region. By providing a focussed groundworks approach, with a team of experienced operators and a fleet of new equipment, ECL looks set to grab an increasing share of that growing market.

“We’ve fought hard to get into the market and we’re here to stay. We’re well supplied, we’ve invested, we are very professional, organised and quick at what we do.”