E.J. Fry Transport & Plant Hire of Launceston, which specialises in serving the overhead power line industry throughout south west England, has added a pair of Wacker Neuson excavators to its fleet, to assist with the installation of electricity poles across difficult terrain and in tight access areas.

The new minis, which join three such Wacker Neuson machines that the company already has, consist of a 1703 unit and a triple boom 6003 model, weighing 2 and 6 tonne respectively. The former has been specified with the manufacturer’s Vertical Digging System (VDS), which is designed to enable the operator to hydraulically tilt the complete superstructure at the touch of a button in order to keep it in the upright position on gradients of up to 27%.

The hirer finds that the VDS facilitates digging vertical holes at minimum width on sloping ground, while the triple boom configuration of the 6003 provides greater lift height, making it possible to work effectively when space is limited, even when handling poles up to 14m long.