Jet Lands 50th Planer

JET PLANT, of Evesham, Worcestershire, has taken delivery of a Wirtgen W 100 F cold milling machine, bringing to 50 the number of planers it has purchased from the same manufacturer in its 19 years of trading. Sean Witheford, Jet’s managing director, says the company remains loyal to the German brand due to its policy of continual investment in the very latest in cold milling technology.

“Over the years we’ve looked at other manufacturers’ products, but for build quality, reliability and innovation nothing quite comes near to our preferred supplier,” says Witheford.

Jet Plant is a family-run business, but nonetheless currently runs no fewer than 23 planers along with a fleet of tippers and sweepers, offering a comprehensive highway rehabilitation service. As such, it is a major national operator of milling machines in its own right. “There are probably only a couple of companies in the UK that are bigger than us, in terms of what we do,” says Witheford. Machines can also be hired out individually for day or contract work. Sean took over running of the company seven years ago, from his father Stuart, while brothers Brian and Scott head up the group’s Henson Plant Hire and Scott Tippers earthworks operations, respectively.

Significant growth at Jet in recent years has seen the acquisition of Tetlaw, based in Newton Abbot, Devon, extending the company’s operations to cover the whole of the UK, making it a major national player.

“Ninety percent of our turnover is in hires, and a lot of that is with an established customer base,” says Witheford. “We have a lot of repeat business and our workload is to a great extent seasonal – when the local authorities are spending on major highways refurbishment.”

The full line-up of cold milling machines includes two 350mm, six 500mm planers and three 2m units, while the company’s latest addition brings the number of 1m tracked machines to five. The company also operates seven 1m wheeled planers, also Wirtgens. “We get anything between 60% and 90% utilisation from the planer fleet, depending on the time of year,” says Witheford, “so it’s important that the machines are reliable. We have that confidence. We don’t tend to consider replacing our machines for four years or more, when they’re still in excellent condition.”

Jet’s latest acquisition belongs to a new generation of machines that was launched at Bauma in 2007. It features higher productivity and lower fuel consumption for greater economy of operation. A six-cylinder turbo diesel engine from Cummins with a nominal output of 209 kW is specially adapted to its application, so that if the milling machine is operating at full load with decreasing engine speed and needs more power, the engine output increases. The new rubber mounted engine is much quieter and also reduces vibrations for the driver, reducing fatigue.

In addition to increased engine output, the machine has a number of intelligent automatic functions, along with a novel levelling system, high-capacity loading of milled material, optimized operability and extended service friendliness. The new machine boasts high manoeuvrability, which is a key advantage, particularly in city traffic and at critical points. The front tracks of the machine have a large steering angle and can be lifted and lowered hydraulically. The rear right track can be swung in front of the milling drum hydraulically from the operator’s platform. This permits milling flush to kerb even with tight radii and ensures that the driver has everything under control from the operator’s platform. The machine incorporates a system permitting rapid exchange of milling drums for different jobs.

Jet, whose planing operations employ some 65 people, has a strong customer loyalty of its own. “That’s down to our reliability to get the job done, which in turn is dependent on the reliability of the machines we use. Thankfully, that’s not a problem; we benefit not only from the build quality of the machines we choose to buy, but also from our supplier’s substantial back-up network,” says Witheford.