It was lovely weather for ducks yesterday at Pier, when our yard had a visit from a female Mallard duck and her new family of 11 ducklings (or clutch to give them their proper name)!

Jemima Puddle-Duck (named after the Beatrix Potter character) and her family had wandered off from the nearby Sankey canal and ended up in the Pier yard. Thankfully, Alice, our Transport Administrator was on hand to guide the ducks out the yard and back towards their canal home.

Not our first bird rescue…

We have a habit of helping out our feathered friends here at Pier. Last month, our Sales Director and our very own Batman, Brian Doran,  leapt into action to release a Robin! The little bird had somehow managed to get itself trapped in one of our fork lift trucks.

Whilst last July, we had a very unexpected visitor to Pier. One of our vacuum excavators had been undergoing planned maintenance, but it turns out that our excavators make the perfect hiding place for a tired Barn Owl far from home and looking for a place to rest! It turned out that the Barn Owl was a trained bird and we were able to reunite it with it’s owner in Blackpool.

It’s not all about the ducks!

Pier (UK) are the UK’s number 1 provider of vacuum excavation hire. Vacuum excavation provides a safer, lower risk excavation alternative to the more traditional excavation techniques. With our high suction powered trucks, we’re able to expertly excavate the ground with little risk of damage or personal injury. Our fleet of over 50 vacuum excavators enables us to hire on an operated or self-hire basis across the UK, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To book our vacuum excavators for your next project, call us on 01925 228 674 or complete our short contact form.

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Pier (UK) Ltd is pleased to announce the completion of the purchase of Vacuum Excavation Southwest Limited from Marcus Wilcox. The company will become a trading division of Pier (UK) Ltd.

Following the acquisition, we have been quick to invest further in the company and have received the first two vacuum excavators carrying the new Vacuum Excavation Southwest branded group livery from MTS UK (pictured) and there are plans already in place for many more to follow.

The two new systems will add to the already large existing fleet that Pier (UK) already have operating from our new Exeter premises.

Sean Quinn, Joint Managing Director of Pier (UK) Ltd, said, “We became the largest operator of vacuum excavation systems in Europe back in 2015, and we are aiming to maintain this status for many years to come. We are now in our fourteenth year of providing vacuum excavation services to over three hundred customers and continue to regularly add to this customer base.”

Sean continued, “I am sure Marcus will be proud to see the company name he created (now under the Pier (UK) Ltd logo) passing him on the roads in the Southwest on a daily basis.”

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PIER (UK) operate the largest vacuum excavation hire fleet in the UK and Europe and today, we are proud to announce that our company is turning 20 years old.

Sean Quinn, Managing Director, originally set up PIER (UK) as a civil engineering and drainage business in 2001. After recognising the safety benefits that vacuum excavation held over the more traditional methods, PIER (UK) ceased to provide civil engineering and drainage services in 2012 and focused solely on vacuum excavation.

There have been so many incredible milestones throughout the past two decades, and we wanted to share our top 20 with you:

	PIER (UK) was established as a company in August 2001, located in Cricket Street in Wigan to provide civil engineering and drainage services.		Over several years we took on a number of large-scale drainage projects including new build retail parks, road widening schemes, airport extensions and many more.
	In 2008, we hired our very first vacuum excavator to safely excavate the ground on a large road widening infrastructure project.		In December 2008 after being extremely impressed with the capabilities of the vacuum excavation system, we received delivery of our first vacuum excavator.
	Seeing how popular the vacuum excavator was with our customers, in May 2010, we purchased more excavators to add to our fleet.		In 2012, Sean Quinn made the decision to cease all drainage and civil works and focus solely on providing vacuum excavation hire.
	In 2013, as our Vac-Ex fleet continued to grow, our team soon outgrew Cricket Street, so we packed our bags and moved 9 miles to a new home in Junction Lane, Newton-le-Willows.		In 2015, we reached a fantastic milestone, becoming the largest vacuum excavation hire provider throughout the United Kingdom. But it didn’t stop there…
	In February 2016, we purchased more vacuum excavators which took us to the top spot as the largest vacuum excavation hire provider in Europe.		December 2016 witnessed the delivery of the 30th vacuum excavator and our team celebrated 8 successful years in the vacuum excavation industry.

Our Sankey Valley site in the 1930s

	Across 2016 and 2017, PIER (UK) decided that they wanted to give something back. We created a special pink vacuum excavator that raised almost £10,000 for several UK cancer charities.		We retained our position with Europe’s largest vacuum excavation hire fleet in 2017 taking delivery of 4 more vacuum excavators.
	In March 2018, we won “Truck of the Show” at the Dungannon Truck Run in Northern Ireland.		A month later, we introduced the UK’s very first Tracked Vac; an off-road vacuum excavator that has been specially designed to travel over the roughest of terrain to reach previously inaccessible sites.
	During the month of August 2018, we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of our very first vacuum excavator by taking delivery of our 42nd.		In 2019, we moved our growing team in to a new purpose-built office.
	Despite the ongoing pandemic during 2020, we announced a significant expansion to our fleet that took us over 50 Vacuum Excavators.		In May 2020, we achieved a 100% score in both the Health & Safety and Environmental in our Achilles Audit.
	In 2020, in the spookiest month of the year, we took delivery of a very special gold vacuum excavator that marked the 1,000th excavator that manufacturer, MTS, had produced.		PIER (UK) celebrates 20 years of successful business on the 31st of August 2021 by designing a unique black vacuum excavator.

Sean Quinn explained: “As a company, we have gone from strength-to-strength over the past two decades, and we are now the UK market leader in vacuum excavation with a hire fleet that continues to grow year-on-year.”

Over the last 20 years, the company has seen many highlights including becoming the UK’s largest provider in 2015 and Europe’s in 2016, raising nearly £10,000 for UK cancer charities in 2016/17 and developing the first ever Tracked Vac; an off-road vacuum excavator that has been specially designed to travel over the roughest of terrain to reach previously inaccessible sites.

Sean continued: “The Tracked Vac was a particularly proud achievement. We wanted to continue to lead the way in vacuum excavation and as its use continued to grow; we predicted the problem was going to arise with gaining access to certain areas with the standard wheeled system. The Tracked Vac means our customers don’t have to install ground protection mats or temporary haul roads to access the site.”

To mark the occasion, Pier (UK) commissioned a unique black truck with 20th Anniversary livery.

The future looks bright for the company as Sean explained: “We will continue to invest in our fleet, our systems, and our people to remain the number one supplier of vacuum excavation in the UK. We have come through a very challenging period for everyone, but the company remains strong and despite issues elsewhere in our target industries, August has been our busiest month this year and our order book continues to grow.”

Follow PIER (UK) on LinkedIn to take part in the 20th Anniversary quiz.

Read more about the history of vacuum excavation here.

#20yearsofpieruk

 

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Lobby groups for the retail and transport industries have written to Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) warning the impact of a shortage of lorry drivers on supply chains is getting worse.

Logistics UK, which represents freight firms, and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that while there was a shortage of HGV drivers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, these two events had “exacerbated the situation.”

“The pandemic halted driver training and testing for over 12 months, while an estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the pandemic and following the end of the transition period.”

Analysis of the latest ONS Labour Force Survey for the second quarter suggests that 14,000 EU lorry drivers left jobs in the UK in the year to June 2020, and only 600 had returned by July 2021. The two groups believe the overall HGV drivers’ shortfall is around 90,000.

The groups warn that the situation will worsen over the coming weeks, and the industry is fast approaching its busiest period – the build up to Christmas. And this fear has been borne out as more and more businesses have admitted to shortages including Arla, KFC, McDonald’s and Nando’s and the construction industry suffering from a brick shortage amongst other materials.

The two groups have called on the Government for three specific and urgent actions:

• Grant temporary work visas to HGV drivers from the European Union. This would be a short-term fix whilst a driver testing backlog is cleared and new drivers trained, however, this is something the Government has refused to do previously.
• Reform the National Skills Fund to enable HGV driver training to be funded. They also want increased flexibility in the Apprenticeship Levy, enabling “front-loading” of training to get trainees driving as soon as possible into the 12-month programme.
• Improve Covid testing facilities so HGV drivers can be tested daily to avoid having to self-isolate.

The Government Response

A government spokesperson said on Friday: “We recently announced a package of measures to help tackle the HGV driver shortage, including plans to streamline the process for new drivers to gain their HGV licence and to increase the number of tests able to be conducted.”

“We have also temporarily relaxed drivers’ hours rules to allow HGV drivers to make slightly longer journeys, but these must only be used where necessary and must not compromise driver safety.”

What’s happening at PIER (UK)?

PIER (UK) has continued to offer an unbroken service throughout this challenging time for the construction industry. We have retained our key staff and continue to provide a first class and, more importantly, a reliable service to our many vacuum excavation customers.

To discover how our vacuum excavators can help you on your next project, please complete this short form.

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We’ve had a very unexpected visitor to PIER (UK) today. One of our vacuum excavators has been undergoing planned maintenance, but it turns out that our excavators make the perfect hiding place for a tired Barn Owl far from home and looking for a place to rest and shelter from the sunshine!

With its heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a much-loved countryside bird. Measuring up to 39cm tall and weighing as much as 350g, the barn owl is a nocturnal bird, so it’s likely Hedwig, as she has been christened after the owl in Harry Potter, was taking a rest after a busy night of hunting mice, voles, shrews and other small mammals and birds!

We discovered Hedwig resting in shade of the hose fitting of the excavator. We immediately contacted the relevant authorities and with their guidance, we have been able to safely rescue ‘Hedwig’ from the excavator.

Upon removal, we found that she was tagged with her owner’s contact details. We’re now wondering which one of us is off to Hogwarts as ‘Hedwig’s’ owner lives over 30 miles away (as the crow owl flies) in Blackpool!

Anyway, one phone call later and we have a relieved owner who will be reunited with their owl later on today.

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With nearly 10 years in the Vacuum Excavation industry, PIER (UK) have undertaken various projects including car park extensions, hotel developments, sports stadium extensions as well as shopping centres and supermarkets.

For all of our projects, we were required to expose the ground to safely locate live services (gas, water, and electric). Due to the safety and speed of our excavators and our professional operators, our customers continue to trust their projects with us.

What Issues Do Our Customers Face?

When companies choose to not opt for Vacuum Excavation, they tend to face several issues, particularly:

• Manual Labour: Whilst at first glance, hiring a team of labourers may appear to be cheaper than an excavator and an operator, but it will take much longer for the dig to be completed.
• Service Strike Risk: With manual work, there comes an increased risk of striking an unidentified cable or service.

How Vacuum Excavation Can Support Your Upcoming Project

With the ability to remove debris from tree roots and expose underground utilities without damaging the surrounding area, Vacuum Excavators are ideal for projects within the construction, civil engineering and utility industries. Working closely with our manufacturers, the advanced technology provides a precise excavation with complete control through the use of the remote-controlled arm.

Once all underground utilities have been located and clearly marked, our Vacuum Excavator will make light work of removing the material to prepare for a maintenance, installation, or repair job. The no-dig suction reduces noise and disruption to the surrounding residents and also limits vibrations that can lead to damages on or around the site.

The History of Vacuum Excavation 

Vacuum Excavation was modified from ‘hydro excavation’ in the 1950s and as technology has continued to progress over time, Vacuum Excavators have become a regular feature on construction, civil engineering and utility projects.

Vacuum Excavators were heavily used in Canada throughout the 1990s and towards the millennium, excavators made their way across to Europe and in particular, the United Kingdom. Since 2008, the demand for Vacuum Excavation led to a number of new designs, focusing on improved performance, due to the increased number of applications for the technology.

With the recent approval for a facility expansion at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket ground for a 1,025 seater stand, a heritage centre and shop, Vacuum Excavation would be the ideal choice of method when exposing the underground for installing new services and moving the current ones.

To discover how Vacuum Excavation can help your next project, contact us or perhaps follow us on LinkedIn.

Read related articles:

• Why Vacuum Digging Is A Safer Alternative
• Vacuum Excavation Project: High Voltage Cables in London

The post How Vacuum Excavation Can Support Your Upcoming Project appeared first on Pier UK Ltd.

With 20 years of experience in the industry, PIER (UK) have over 50 Vacuum Excavation trucks in their hire fleet and have the ability to assist an array of industries across the United Kingdom, 7 days a week.

PIER (UK) pride themselves on delivering excellent customer service and ensuring that the safety of everyone on-site is paramount. Our team liaise with our customers to understand their individual site requirements and with our expertise in Vacuum Excavation, we will provide the best solution by identifying all works that can be achieved faster and safer by using Vacuum Excavation.

Our team have strong experience working with the Underground Utilities Network, as well as Civil Engineering and Construction industries. With a continued investment PIER (UK) are dedicated to assist companies with their Vacuum Excavation requirements; no job is too big or small for us.

Our Vacuum Excavation Vehicles

All of our Vacuum Excavation vehicles are fully mobile and are fitted with GPS trackers to produce arrival times for our customers to guarantee that on-site projects will go ahead on time.

Our models include additional pipe work for extra depth, built-in compressor, a range of tooling options, power arm and non-power arm as well as up to 12 m³ side tipping spoil tank.

Our operators have a range of certifications to ensure best practice on-site. After completing extensive equipment training and coaching, each operator achieves a minimum of CSCS certification, followed by EUSR SHEA, EUSR Water, Highways England, North West Gas Alliance, Wales and West Gas Alliance, TRIIO, Confined Space, BESEC, Safety Critical Medical, SPRA Petro Chemical Forecourt, Street Works and PTS just name a few. As part of our commitment to on-site health and safety, our Vacuum Excavation solutions also incorporate any additional training regulations and initiatives individual sites may have.

As we continue to grow and extend our customer base, we undertake new accreditations to ensure full capabilities across all contracts. Some of our accreditations include: Constructionline, Achilles, UVDB, Achille Buildingconfidence, SMAS, CHAS, Safe Contractor Plus, Exor, CPA, RHA and FORS.

As the industry leaders in Vacuum Excavation, PIER (UK) will listen carefully to their customers’ requirements and provide a solution that is suitable for the job at hand.

You can contact our team on email or on 01925 228 674. Alternatively, you can view our latest projects on our Social Media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Read related articles:

• What is Vacuum Excavation Used For?
• The Importance of Vacuum Excavation Safety

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