In 1987, a young man graduated from university after completing a thesis into the problems of tipper vehicles overturning, that young man was Grant Faulkner. With his new found knowledge and an abundance of enthusiasm he went about proving the benefits of stability by setting up Harsh Ltd and converting hauliers to use the Harsh stabilised underfloor tipping gear.
“I suppose I am a bit of a petrol head and when I read about 2,000 turnovers per year in the UK, I thought my study might lead to a solution, but I never imagined just how much better the Harsh equipment was in preventing these turnovers.” says Grant Faulkner. “Once I had discovered this equipment, I knew there was a market for it in the UK so I set about to sell it. We tested it ourselves with the MOD just to prove to sceptics what a difference the Harsh gear makes.”
Harsh Ltd took the market by storm by selling a product that gave added benefits to customers; this became the ethos for Harsh Ltd. Over time the range of tipping gears increased to include both underfloor and front-end from 1.5 to 44 tonne, they developed their sheeting system range into a market-leading brand. Their range for the tipping market grew to include all the ancillary equipment requirements (body liners, on board weighing systems, PTO/pumps, tractor kits, automatic greasing systems, reversing cameras etc.)
“The 1990s saw ‘recycling’ become the buzzword and the Harsh customer base started to look for waste handling products so we did our research and introduced Skiploaders and Hooklifts to the range.” explains Grant. “This last 2 years has really seen the handling side of our business take off, our workshops are busier than ever before, particularly with repeat business for the skiploaders. An example of this is Martins of York, they purchased their first Harsh Skiploader in 2005 followed by two in 2006 and another one this year.
From small beginnings in 1995 working mainly for the private sector, Martins has expanded rapidly and now operates a large fleet of skip vehicles and has over 1,000 skips from 4 to 40 yard. They have come a long way in 10 years and have established a good name servicing the needs of the local community, construction and manufacturing industries.
Major house builders such as Barratts, Bellway Homes, Taylor Woodrow and S Harrison Construction choose Martins of York Ltd over other companies, as do construction companies such as Balfour Beatty on their construction of the new York College. Not just on price, but because they can meet their high demand for skips on developments around York.
Martins of York Ltd have invested heavily in recycling over the past few years, with their own transfer station and recycling facility they now reclaim over 70% of the waste handled - producing top soils and aggregates as well as recycling paper, plastics, timber and scrap metals.”
Jason Martin, Director, says “I chose Harsh to supply the equipment on our skip vehicles from 2005 for two reasons - they were local to us and, more importantly, the equipment is sturdy, robust and looks the part. It has proven to be the right choice and we have been delighted not only with the performance but with the after sales service we have received. Harsh are simply first class - to be honest, we feel there is no other option for us other than with Harsh.”
Harsh prides itself on providing its customers with innovative high quality products, that not only meet their needs but provide added benefits. The latest product to be added is the Skip-Flip, a hydraulically operated automated sheeting system to enable the safe, efficient sheeting of skips with the added benefit of saving time.
“We have held back before launching this product to the market to enable a prolonged and strenuous testing period to be completed. The feedback from the operators has been brilliant, every one of them have been impressed with the speed and ease of use and the safety improvement of not having to climb on to the body and not forgetting the ‘Harsh added benefit’ - customers are reporting being able to complete an extra load per day!” says Grant.
For more information contact us
