MJ Church invests in Hitachi for smart motorway

Earthworks subcontractor MJ Church has made a substantial investment in Hitachi construction equipment for its work on a smart motorway project in England. A fleet of ten ZX210LC-5s, four ZX130LCN-5s and a ZX350LC-5 is playing a significant part in upgrading a 13.4-mile (21.6km) stretch of the M3 through the counties of Hampshire and Surrey.

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MJ Church’s Zaxis-5 medium excavators started work on the verges and central reservation of the innovative construction site in January 2015 by stripping off the topsoil and excavating the subsoil materials. The majority of these were then transported to the site compound, ready for recycling, along with all of the sand and hard materials, such as concrete and asphalt.

A ZX210LC-5 was utilised to feed the onsite crusher in the recycling yard at the compound, where the ZX350LC-5 was loading MJ Church’s fleet of immaculate trucks from the stockpiles. Between 1,000 and 1,500 tonnes of recycled materials – “Type one” (used under the new road and concrete barrier); and “6N” (backfill for structures) – were being transported back on to the site every day at peak times.

A ZX130LCN-5 was also stockpiling a high percentage of excavated subsoils that came back to compound. It was sifting through these materials with a riddle bucket to take out the lumps and prepare them as suitable backfill around structures and drainage work.

At the busiest period during the spring, 107 MJ Church employees were working on the M3 project, supported by the Hitachi fleet. “The 20-tonne excavators were working close together on the central reservation in teams of three: one clearing the topsoil, one carrying out the excavation work and the other putting the stone in,” explains the subcontractor’s Works Manager Vernon Creed.

“My job is to ensure that productivity is high, so from my perspective reliability is the number one strength of Hitachi excavators. We look after our machines with support from Hitachi Construction Machinery (UK) [HCMUK] who provide us with an excellent service.”

MJ Church has a long-standing relationship with HCMUK, the success of which has been based on the quality of the products as well as the strength of the support service. “The performance of the machines is impressive and they deliver a favourable cost of ownership,” says Steve Blower, MJ Church’s Managing Director. “We are reliant on the efficiency of our equipment and team working in harmony. The level of support we receive from HCMUK is second to none and this backup is so important to our operation.”

The international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty was awarded the £129 million (€180 million) scheme in July 2014. The project for the British Government’s Highways England will increase capacity, reduce congestion and shorten journey times by up to 15% between junctions 2 and 4a on the M3, which links south-west London to Southampton. The benefits also include smoother traffic flows, fewer road traffic collisions, and reduced noise and vehicle emissions. It is estimated around 130,000 journeys are made on the road daily, with that figure set to increase by 30% over the coming years.

MJ Church was awarded the earthworks contract by Balfour Beatty after a tender process. Based in south-west England, the subcontractor is one of the largest civil engineering, earthworks and waste management companies in the region.