Chatham based Avondale Environmental Services is definitely something out of the ordinary. You know that as soon as you discover the company’s HQ is in a partly restored Victorian fort.
A fort it purchased and then proceeded to clear of tens of thousands of dumped car tyres. The company even purchased specialist recycling kit and spent the first year at their new home recycling them. At present it is safeguarding the 5.2 hectares that came with the fort to ensure the valuable site isn’t developed. That is real environmental responsibility.
The company is renowned for its environmentally responsible policies and to make sure it carries out vegetation clearance for clients with the greatest of care, the company employs Hannah Rose, an environment and ecology advisor who will pre-walk all sites to prepare an environmental study before any work starts. She will make sure that the workforce come equipped with the correct equipment and that they adhere to the environmental controls she has recommended.
To do this, the company runs an incredibly diverse range of equipment to deal with all types of vegetation clearance with the greatest of efficiency and the least environmental impact.
In one corner of the fort for instance is a 12 tonne Bandit whole tree chipper fitted with a 9 metre crane that is capable of lifting a half ton fallen tree. Marketed in the USA as ‘the Beast’ this impressive machine actually has the environment at heart, as it is designed as a low ground pressure machine, fitted with extra wide tracks to reduce its footprint in sensitive environments.
Parked in the car park for the fitting of a blower hose, is a multi use Mercedes Unimog. To say this unit is versatile is something of an understatement, as it can be used for tunnel washing, grass cutting, weed spraying, hedge flailing and a myriad of other projects. As well as an attachment arm, which is equipped to carry various attachments, the body carries four 2,000 litre tanks that are used either for spraying or holding a TFR solution for tunnel washing. The tanks are fitted with a heated coil system to provide a hot or cold spray wash.
Such diverse equipment often throws up maintenance dilemmas such as where to source rare, unusual, weird and wonderful fixtures and fittings. But Avondale’s engineers soon found a solution in Pirtek Medway.
“The urgency of our work is totally understood by Pirtek. With Pirtek we can walk in with a damaged part and they will manufacture a replacement unit on the spot. If we have a problem with something really unusual, then Pirtek are the place to go. It’s rare that they haven’t got a part on the shelf. But if it’s not in stock, they ensure it’s ordered there and then, and delivered the next morning. This is so much easier than waiting weeks for foreign parts that might have a lead-time of weeks to deliver. Although the bulk of our work is done with their counter service, they do attend on site breakdowns. They understand the tight timetables involved with track possession, where every minute counts. We have used them on 14 occasions this year, on everything from jetting hoses, truck spinners and all sorts of hoses and fittings. We work on a national basis with projects in Bicester, Lowestoft, Liverpool and Portsmouth at the moment. Luckily there is a Pirtek centre close to all those sites.”
“The urgency of our work is totally understood by Pirtek”
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