Plant Machinery: Excavators, Mini Diggers and Dumpers

Some forklift dealers also sell and hire construction plant (construction equipment), and the members below supply it. Contact any of them directly using the details on their card, for a machine to buy or hire, or for parts and servicing.

The main types of plant machinery

• Micro and mini diggers (mini excavators) – small tracked excavators for landscaping, drainage and footings. Micro diggers, under about a tonne, often have tracks that narrow to pass through a doorway or garden gate; the smaller minis can be towed on a plant trailer, within the weight limits of the towing vehicle and trailer.
• 360 excavators – tracked or wheeled machines whose whole upper body slews right round. Midi excavators sit between the minis and the full-size machines.
• Backhoe loaders – often called a “JCB” in the UK, after the manufacturer, with a loading shovel at the front and a 180° digging arm at the back.
• Site dumpers and articulated dump trucks – forward tipping site dumpers, straight or with a swivel skip, from small high-tip and tracked dumpers to larger site machines, and articulated dump trucks for bulk earthmoving.
• Wheel loaders, loading shovels and skid steers – wheel loaders (loading shovels) for moving loose material, and compact skid steer and tracked loaders that take buckets, forks, sweepers and breakers.
• Rollers and compaction – ride-on and pedestrian rollers, and plate compactors.
• Telehandlers – telescopic handlers that lift and place loads on site; see also our telescopic handler specialists and rough terrain forklifts.

Whoever operates a machine needs to be trained and competent on that type. In the UK most construction sites ask for a CPCS or NPORS card as evidence of training; elsewhere, check what the country and the site require. To move a machine between sites, request a transport quote or see plant and forklift transport.