Justin Kingwell founded Kingwell Holdings Ltd. in 1995, having previously been in the timber trade, working as saw operator and climber since 1986. Following a serious work-related accident in 1989, he was no longer able to carry out full-time handworks due to his injuries and this led him to start operating machinery on timber and clearance sites. In time, due to the nature of this work, modifying, designing and building himself a small excavator-mounted stump grinder was a natural progression.
The present-day company is a direct descendant of this. Kingwell Holdings – which is now a renowned and highly specialized forestry firm – with a core of nine employees on the team, who have worked for the company for many years. Clients include Balfour Beatty, Costain and Skanska, where Kingwell Holdings operate as a Tier one sub-contractor.
Justin said, “I still try to work on-site 40% of the time. This allows me to know exactly what machinery is needed and helps with the build and modification of new machines. I also like developing new equipment – we pride ourselves at being leaders in our field where innovation is concerned.”
The company currently has a fleet of 20 machines – these include AHWI tracked mulchers and Kingwell Holdings is now the largest AHWI customer in Europe with over £1million worth of machines. Kingwell also own three Hyundai machines – the latest purchase is a new custom-built 26 tonne Hyundai HX260HW, supplied by Hyundai dealer Molson. The company is also waiting for the delivery of a new Hyundai HX140L.
The first Hyundai was ‘a chance purchase’! Justin reported, “I was looking for a 20 tonne Kobelco machine back in 2007. Unfortunately, the dealer could not deliver for ages. I drove past Ernest Doe in Ulting Essex and they had some 20-tonne Hyundai’s in the yard – I went in and bought one straight away, as we needed a machine there and then. We liked the machine, hence why we have another two and another one on the way from Molsons.”
The new HX260HW machine sits alongside a 21-tonne heavily modified Hyundai R210-9, and a 20 tonne -7A machine, which is the oldest excavator in the fleet and has clocked up an impressive 10,000 hours. Justin said, “We love our old -7A machine dearly – it’s an awesome bit of kit and the only bit of trouble it has ever given us was an interior light bulb went in the cab. This has by far been our most reliable machine”.
Talking about the new HX260HW machine Justin said, “On the HX260, the AAVM (Around View Monitoring System) camera system is brilliant. A very good safety tool which the operators really like. You are restricted on vision on the HX260, as it’s such a tall machine and you’re a long way from the ground, so people can sneak up on you easily. With the AAVM camera, you can see if people are approaching your working area. We had this machine built specially for what we do – it can lift incredibly heavy attachments and it’s very stable. It’s also the quickest machine we have ever used for pulling stumps out of the ground. We like Hyundai – we’re a big fan. Operators also like the ease of use and comfort of the cab on the new models – all the mod cons. Blue tooth, climate control, heated seats and the demisting works well – they guys love them.”
Justin added, “A recent example of work where the Hyundai HX260HW came into its own, would be a recent project on the Deepcut Link Road in Surrey. The machine tree sheared and stacked the large pine trees and then de-stumped the site – ready for the company mulchers. The site clearance had to be completed within a very tight time-frame and the HX260HW came in with time to spare.”
Justin estimated that the company has invested around £300K in Hyundai and a further £40K in modifications. “Many years ago, when we bought the -7A new, we did all the modifications to the machines in-house but now having worked with Molson’s for some time – they know exactly what we want. We spec the machines and they put everything together in a package for us – so it’s all covered under warranty, which suits us much better. Included would be tilt-rotators, high flow pipe work, diverter valves for the hydraulics etc. I think that Molson offer a very good service.”
Justin concluded, “We don’t just buy on price we buy on machine performance – our machines are always running high flow hydraulics, forestry attachments and are working in the harshest of environments – a similar extremity to demolition work. We always specify full guarding, high flow hydraulics and additional filtration systems, so if we have an attachment which has a malfunction, it doesn’t poison the rest of the machine – Molson’s have a good system on that for us.”
