A leading civil engineering firm’s work on the first large-scale new water storage reservoir in the UK since the 1980s has been enhanced by a multi-million-pound investment in plant.
As part of its annual review, Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK has strengthened its 400-strong fleet, with 29 of the additional machines now working on Havant Thicket reservoir in Hampshire.
North Wales-based Jones Bros and Mackley, whose head office is in West Sussex, have joined forces as Future Water MJJV Limited to construct the £167m water storage scheme.
And Jones Bros has deployed some of its recent additions to work on the programme, with ten A40G articulated dump trucks, eight dozers – five D65PXi, two D71PXi, and one D61PXi, and seven BW219HD rollers heading to Havant.
In addition, there are also four new excavators, with a duo of PC490LCis, one PC210LCi, and a single PC360LCi all on-hand to aid project delivery and reduce fuel consumption.
Jones Bros plant manager Stuart Bates said:
“Investing in the latest machinery is important to us as a company that prides itself on owning its own plant and the versatility and agility it provides in terms of schemes.
“We want to tackle key projects across the UK with the very best workforce which will be operating top of the range plant.
“This latest procurement underlines those values, helping us improve the quality of our activity and, in many cases, allows us to reduce our carbon emissions.”
In addition, to the new plant, there are also nine excavators on-site in Hampshire, along with half-a-dozen PC210LCis, five further D65PXis, two PC360LCis, two extra BW219HDs, and a HB365LC.
Stuart continued:
“All of the modern machinery that we’ve purchased in recent years gives us the power and productivity levels needed to handle a job as significant as Havant Thicket reservoir.”
Future Water MJJV Limited has more than 150 years’ experience across a wide range of sectors, including water, energy, coastal protection, and flood defence, and was selected to carry out the works by Portsmouth Water, which is creating the development in partnership with Southern Water.
With the reservoir not set to be completed until 2029, the current Jones Bros fleet in operation on the south coast could be further boosted in the coming months.
Stuart added:
“Updating the plant we have is a constant process and we’ve recently sat down to plan what we need when we secure the next batch of machines.”
Established in the 1950s, Jones Bros owns one of the largest plant fleets in the UK and employs approximately 500 people.
The company is currently working on contracts in various sectors including highways, flood and marine defence, waste management and renewable energy around the UK.
The company runs an award-winning apprenticeship scheme, which has produced nearly 50 per cent of its current workforce, with many of its senior managers having started out as apprentices or in a trainee role. It has recruited hundreds of apprentices over the years.
