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New ARM Pipetek fleet to service Northumbrian Contract
Established less than a decade ago by a group of experienced water industry engineers, ARM Pipetek has expanded rapidly to become a growing force in the North East drainage sector. A recent contract award with Northumbrian Water has brought fresh investment in a new fleet of custom jetting vans, supplied and converted by N1 Jetting Solutions and fitted with Andy Guest Jetters 3-Series petrol machines.
Civil engineering firm ARM Pipetek undertake a wide range of drainage services for public and private clients, including CCTV surveys, sewer cleaning and CIPP lining. The firm currently operates a fleet of over 20 vehicles including CCTV/jetting vans and jetvac tankers, employing 75 staff from its base in Durham.
Kevin Embleton, Transport Manager at ARM Pipetek, explains that the six new van-packs will be used in part to service a five-year contract to provide public and private drainage services for Northumbrian Water.
He says the decision to go with 3-Series petrol jetters was influenced by several factors: “Weight and size were very important. Using 3.5t vans means the engineers can drive them on a normal licence. The new jetters are smaller and lighter than diesel, which also means we were able to install 600 ltr water tanks and be within the 1100kg load limited for a 3.5t van.”
The new vans were delivered on July 1, and Kevin says the engineers' feedback so far has been extremely positive: “We’ve got experienced jetting men using the new kit and all the reports are excellent. For the size of the jetters, the output is very impressive and our engineers have told me they perform better than diesel machines with similar capacities. Having more jetting power also means we’re using less water to get through blockages.”
The Andy Guest 3-Series jetters utilise a Briggs and Stratton Vanguard EFI V-Twin petrol engine and Triplex Plunger Pump to produce 3000PSI @ 12GPM. The jetters include a hydraulically-driven HP reel and were supplied with a 5-Channel radio remote system.
Neil Hocking at N1 Jetting Systems, based in Durham, is an Andy Guest agent in the North East and has been working with the ARM Pipetek for many years. He explains that the specification and installation of petrol jetters was something new for the firm: “Most of our customers are familiar with diesel machines and specifying petrol machines was something of a newer venture for us. So far, we’ve had really good reports from the engineers, with some machines already completing 40 hours of work since delivery.”
N1 Jetting Systems installed the 3-Series machine together with customising the van layouts to incorporate bulkheads, full front and rear linex waterproofing, LED lighting, shelving, welfare stations and rod storage.
Hocking also credits Andy Guest Jetters’ Jon Woods and Bob Dobson for their work to ensure that all six van packs were delivered on time and on budget, despite the current supply issues that are prevalent in the industry.
Due to the excellent feedback, Hocking says he would have has no hesitation in recommending the 3-Series to contractors across the North East: “We will certainly be offering this to other drainage operators, as a more flexible and effective alternative to the diesel variant.”
Learn more about ARM Pipetek here
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