"Hiring from Hewden meant that we were assured of well maintained, modern machinery. Due to the logistics and limitations of the site we needed equipment that wasn’t going to fail halfway through the job."

Hewden supplied two operated Caterpillar hydraulic excavators to construction company, Carillion Plc for a project at the top of Mount Snowdon. Impressed by the reliability of the excavators, Carillion felt that they were ideally suited to working in the perilous conditions of the mountain’s summit.

Based in the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, the excavators helped in the building of a new visitor centre. Remaining on site for the duration of the build, they were involved in the two-year process from demolition to rebuild.

Temperatures at the summit of Mount Snowdon drop as low as -25 degrees Celsius during the winter months, meaning that all work on site had to be put on hold until the weather improved in the spring, as the whole area was largely inaccessible. To combat these conditions, Carillion needed machinery that was reliable and capable of remaining idle for long periods of time during the winter months.

Commenting on the importance of reliable equipment, Carillion site manager Chris Hogan said: "Hiring from Hewden meant that we were assured of well maintained, modern machinery. Due to the logistics and limitations of the site we needed equipment that wasn’t going to fail halfway through the job. With the remote location, the excavators played a key part in the operation of the site, from beginning to end.

To access the site, all equipment was loaded onto a flat bed carriage that ran on the railway that scales the mountain. The excavators were responsible for loading the flat bed, but this meant that the machines themselves had to be walked up the mountain. This took a mammoth day and a half, over the many streams and brooks that run throughout the Snowdonia region. Needless to say once they were up there we didn’t want to bring them back down unnecessarily, so the reliability of the machines was paramount.”

The confinements of the site held a number of restrictions for the team, namely the size of the equipment that could be used. Hewden was able to meet Carillion’s precise requirements without any delays, taking into account machine size and tonnage, the type of tracks fitted and the availability of additional work tools.

In addition, both excavators had to have rubber tracks so that they caused minimal damage to the ground. This was especially important whilst they were being moved up to the site, as the tracks of the excavators had to straddle the railway line to make the ascent.

The flexibility of the hydraulic swing booms of the Cat 304C CR and Cat 308C CR hydraulic excavators allow for trenching close to the machines’ tracks. Coupled with the dozer blades fitted as standard, both machines are ideal for landscaping and site clean up. Hewden Bangor also provided additional work tools, namely hydraulic breakers, perfect for breaking rocks. As a site of outstanding natural beauty it was paramount that Carillion returned the entire area to its former state, including putting every stone back as it was.

Chris commented that: "The reliability of the Hewden service, equipment and operators allowed us to make this job a success. The excavators remained on site for the full two years, which in itself is a massive achievement; a lesser machine would have suffered from the appalling conditions that strike Mount Snowdon."

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