From their humble beginnings in 2006, J Hearnden Skip Hire has expanded from a single truck operation to one of Kent’s most trusted and reliable waste recycling companies.
Founded by James Hearnden who remains firmly at the family company’s helm, J Hearnden Skips has recently added a pair of Hyundai HX145A LCR compact excavators, supplied by Molson Equipment, to their fleet to manage an increasing volume of waste material the company handles on an annual basis.
‘We have been working with Molson for the past 14 or 15 years.’ James commented. ‘We have tried to replace our compact excavators at around three years of age to keep them fresh and always go back to Molson as they are great to deal with.’
The company operates a large, fully licensed waste transfer station in Erith which is ideally located to serve a huge area of South East London and Kent. ‘We try and keep south of the river as it makes us more cost effective and allows us to offer a more reliable service.’ James commented.
From his single truck start, James has expanded the fleet to over 30 vehicles from Transit vans to hook lift trucks, allowing a wide range of waste collection services to be undertaken. Further expansions of the company have seen a small hire fleet added, to allow customers to use the company as a one stop shop. As material volumes have increased, so has the range of products the company handles, and this has led to them addressing the ways in which they handle and sort the incoming waste at Erith. ‘As we have a policy of zero waste to landfill, we are having to sort and segregate materials far more diligently.’ James explains. ‘This has allowed us to achieve up to 98% recycling rates across the business and whilst this is down to the work we undertake at Erith, it is also down to the wider changes made in the recycling industry where there are far more routes for materials to be recycled.’
The latest additions to the fleet are a pair of 15 tonne HX145A LCR compact excavators which are being used as the frontline machines at Erith. Waste is delivered to the transfer station on either the company’s own vehicles or by a wide range of external commercial carriers with one of the new Hyundai compact excavators tasked with picking through almost each load dropped on the concrete yard.
Powered by a 3.8 litre diesel engine delivering 134hp, the Cummins F3.8 represents the latest fuel efficient and emissions friendly engine technology from the global manufacturer. Featuring an EGR-free design that delivers 3% more power and 12% more peak torque than the previous model, the Cummins offers increased fuel economy and longer maintenance intervals which contribute to a reduced cost of operation for the compact excavators, something James and his team liked.
Hyundai’s EPIC hydraulic system, in connection with automatic engine shutdown, eco gauge and lifting mode, allows the machine to deliver the exact performance and efficiency when and where it’s needed. The HX A-Series of compact excavators adopts Hyundai’s upgraded EPIC system (Electric Pump Independent Control) which optimises pump flow rate and power at various working conditions through individual pump control. This minimises energy loss within the system, again increasing the compact excavators’ overall efficiency. Despite the excavator’s compact exterior, the heart of the machine is packed away with ample room for servicing with all daily checks and fluid filling points easily and safely accessed from ground level. The offside of the upper structure has a sturdy set of steps allowing access up to the top of the body
The upgrades made to the A-Series cabs have been welcomed by operators for their increased comfort and design. Offering the operator Bluetooth, charging points, a fully suspended, heated seat and a selection of storage bins, the cabs are seen as amongst the best on the market. Paired with robust and well laid out switch gear and a new colour touch screen, the operator can now work their way through the menus quickly and easily to bring up any relevant information they need. The compact excavators come with Hyundai’s AAVM (Advanced Around View Monitoring) camera system which offers a full 360° view around the machine to be displayed on the monitor. ‘We find the AAVM system to be an excellent addition to the Hyundai.’ James commented. ‘The compact excavators work in a very congested area and whilst we rarely have operatives on the ground, the camera is great for ensuring the machines aren’t slewed into the material causing damage which can cost us downtime.’ Further protection to the compact excavators comes with a sturdy grille covering the front window to prevent any errant materials hitting the glass.
One of the compact excavators has been fitted with a Prodem selector grab supplied by BPH which sifts through the incoming material picking out some of the larger pieces setting them aside for further recycling. Once the larger pieces are removed, the material is stacked up inside the shed by the second machine which sits halfway up the large pile.
This second machine is situated halfway up the pile of pre-sorted material where it spends much of its time loading the conveyor system which takes the material onto a trommel and picking station. The new Hyundai is joined by an older R80LC excavator which assists in feeding the conveyor when the larger machine is called away on other duties.
‘Once the material has been picked and sorted into their dedicated waste streams, we then load it onto bulkers or tippers for transfer to a wide range of facilities across the country for final recycling.’ James explains. ‘The new compact excavators carry on a long relationship we have with the Molson team. They are always there should we have an issue and are very responsive when it comes to dealing with any problems we have.’
