The sleepy North Wales village of Llansannan lies peacefully on the banks of the River Aled and it is this river and its regular flooding that has brought the village to a devastating standstill on more than one occasion.
Built tightly around the river, the village has suffered from winter floods for several years with properties and land damaged with each occurrence. With each flood, the call for an alleviation scheme has got louder and louder with Conwy County Council eventually agreeing to a large scheme which started in early 2022.
The company winning the complex contract to deliver the contract are Colwyn Bay based MWT Civil Engineering. Founded in 2001 by Company Director, Mike Thomas, MWT Civil Engineering has now become one of the most recognized and respected construction companies in North Wales delivering a variety of civil engineering and construction solutions to both local authorities, domestic clients, and large establishments. The family-owned company benefits from a multiskilled, directly employed workforce that share the company ethos of getting every job done well.
The project in Llansannan will see the company, over the next few months construct a reinforced concrete channel through the village to replace the existing, outdated culvert through which the river flows. Much of the work will involve extensive road closures to allow the team to excavate the existing structure and rebuild the new, improved version.
The variety of work the company regularly undertakes has seen them build a fleet of smaller equipment with a 13t excavator being the largest machine currently on the fleet. For larger projects, bigger equipment has been hired in to meet the project’s needs short term. With the Llansannan project demanding the presence of a larger machine over a 12-month period, the decision was made to add a new machine with a larger capacity to the fleet.
One of the major prerequisites for the new machine was to be as compact as possible with a compact tail swing machine being the preferred choice. “We looked at the market for a suitable machine and came across the Sany SY155U.” Mike comments “We liked the look of the machine, the build quality seemed to be there and under the skin, the components are all from familiar, well-known brands. The price was also a plus point along with the 5-year structural warranty, something you don’t get from the ‘big’ manufacturers.”
The man tasked with handling the newcomer is Anglesey resident Euron Evans. Euron has been operating the company’s current Japanese made excavator and says the Sany has far exceeded his expectations. “It’s a heavier machine, about 2.5 tonnes. But it is tiny in comparison compared to the other excavator with very little in the way of a rear overhang. The cab is good too, its comfortable, is well laid out and surprisingly for a compact machine, has plenty of room. The view around the machine is good too and this is helped by the additional camera system.
The SY155U is one of the newest crawler models in the ever-expanding range of Sany excavators and slots in nicely between the standard counterweight SY135C and SY215C. Powered by a Stage V compliant Isuzu powerplant which develops 78.5kw, the Sany weighs in at a shade over the 16-tonne mark. The excavator has been supplied by Welsh Sany specialists Fitzgerald Plant from Newport and like the rest of the range, has been supplied with a high specification as standard. The sturdy undercarriage rides on 600mm rubber pads pads and is furnished with an equally sturdy dozer blade. The very compact upper structure gives just a tiny overhang of the tracks making it ideal for owners using it in tight locations. Large opening panels allow access to the main components from ground level, with the Isuzu accessed from above through the wide-opening bonnet. Daily checks can be carried out from locations around the excavator or remotely through the new larger operator interface within the cab. Sany have come a long way since their introduction to the European markets less than a decade ago. Gone are the wood effect inserts on the dash to be replaced by an easy clean, grey plastic finish. The deckchair like seating has also been replaced with a quality Grammer unit with a wide range of movements allowing operators to set themselves up comfortably.
On the business end of the excavator, the Sany dealers can offer a range of hitches and buckets from all of the main manufacturers. The MWT machine has been supplied with a hitch and a range of buckets from market leading manufacturer Miller Groundbreaking. A full range of auxiliary pipework comes as standard allowing operators to use a range of hydraulically powered attachments with the operator interface allowing several attachment settings to be stored within the system.
The excavator’s first job on the project was in the compound loading material into dumpers for delivery around the project. Moving on from this, the first major section of culvert to be installed has required the excavator’s ability to lift and manoeuvre the temporary shuttering that has been designed and built by the company to build the culvert. “We looked at using standard formwork panels but the time and cost for installing these was very expensive.” Mike explained “We looked at the possibility of manufacturing a rolling shutter system which rolls along the base of the culvert. The first few pours have already convinced us that we have made the right decision in designing and building the formwork.” With the first section of culvert in place, the Sany was then called on to excavate through some existing hard standing to allow the formwork to follow the path of the river. Working tight to a conifer hedge the material was excavated and loaded into a Mecalac 9 tonne dumper with Euron in the excavator able to sit almost tight to the hedge without any fear of scratching the counterweight whilst slewing around. “She’s a very good digger.” Euron commented “I have no complaint switch the machine’s productivity or reliability so far and would happily recommend a Sany to anyone looking to buy a machine.”
The arrival of the Sany into the MWT fleet has so far been a very positive one. Fuel economy is good at just 6 litres per hour, the machine’s reliability has been excellent and it is so far more productive than the 13 tonne machine within the fleet. The SY155U certainly is living up to the manufacturer’s strapline that ‘Quality changes the World’.