Wembley – based Harringtons Builders Plc has just added a new Thompsons tipper to its fleet, a truck that really ‘maxes out’ every aspect of tipper performance, safety and productivity.
Immediately noticeable in its highly attractive all-over sky blue livery, it’s a handsome beast too, but it’s the technical specification that makes this truck quite a bit different from the tipper norm.
Underneath the latest-spec Thompsons Loadmaster Lite bodywork (which for Harringtons includes a hydraulic AutoLoc tailgate, VWS weighing system, flip-over Shurco sheet, sideguard warning panels, and extra lighting to the side panels and rear posts) there’s a similarly top-flight 460hp Volvo FMX chassis that’s been individually specified for years of hard work.
Key here is Harringtons choice of a Volvo heavy duty rear bogie, complete with hub reduction drive axles. The two front steer axles are also uprated, and carry 385/65 wide single tyres which, as for the rear sets, are carried on weight – saving polished alloy wheels. For power, Harringtons chose Volvo 13 litre engine rather than an 11 litre model. Completing this one-off specification is the high stability HARSH K110 underfloor tipping gear, the only unit available in the UK with a built – in stabiliser that maximises tipping safety in both on-road and off-road environments.
The truck’s cab also gets the full up -spec treatment too; on the roof there’s a Kelsa lightbar mounted with chrome air horns and six spot lamps, with further details including stainless steel mirror guards and flashing warning lights located in the front grille. Inside, driver Adrian gets not only an automatic gearbox but also a full leather interior and a fridge.
“Our business is all about quality” says company director Tony Harrington, “so we have to demonstrate that at every opportunity and in everything that we do. The new tipper is a rolling advert for our company, so it needs to look the best and be the best when it’s out working. Achieving ever greater performance, reliability and safety are the real yardsticks in how we run our business”.
Whilst getting a good tipper chassis is important, it’s their bodies that really get the hard work, and no-one has a better reputation for reliability and durability than Thompsons. The latest Loadmaster Lite model is also a modern, attractive, clean-lined design and hence the perfect complement to the Volvo chassis, whilst also giving us a really good payload too. ”
Harringtons Builders Plc can trace its history back to when 16 – year old Irish teenager Con Harrington came to London from his native Cork way back in 1957. Principally active in groundworks, civil engineering and plant hire, CF Harrington Ltd was founded 10 years later, which in turn became Harringtons Builders Plc in 2001, the business now headed up and run by Con’s son Tony.
“My father grew this business from scratch” says Tony, “with an absolute dedication to sheer hard work. We continue to prosper by delivering quality results based on our experience, teamwork and a 100% reliable service.”
Speaking for Thompsons at their company HQ in Croydon, Joint Managing Director Scott Burton says “Harringtons Builders is another great example of the huge contribution that Irish companies have made to the UK’s civil engineering and construction industries over the last 50 years. We’ve worked with Con and Tony since the mid – 1990s and are thus delighted to have been able to deliver this latest model, and wish them every success and years of happy ownership.”
