UK Manufacturing Key to Innovation

At Andy Guest's manufacturing facility in Keighley, West Yorkshire, the team of specialist engineers and technicians have become accustomed to unusual requests for bespoke products and jetting equipment customisations.

Alongside manufacturing the V-Pack Series of skid-mounted jetting equipment, the company frequently undertake projects to build bespoke products such as stack and split units, along with customising engine parts and frame mountings. Most often customisations are completed to help clients save space or reduce weight and emissions, but from time to time unusual requests put the company's engineers to the test.

As a good example of this, the team was recently tasked with developing an electro-hydraulic Remote Reel for use in environments where emissions preclude a fuel-driven system. Designed primarily for use within power station buildings, the tracked remote reel features a dual powered motor that uses either 415V 3 Phase electricity or diesel.

With a custom-built frame and hydraulic drive hose reel, capable of holding 200 metres of 1" jetting hose, the unit is mounted on one-metre-wide tracked undercarriage. Operating a dual system means that jetting work can be carried out indoors during normal working hours without causing disruption to the power station operation.
UK General Manager James Burke says that the build team really enjoy being challenged by interesting projects: "The engineers and technicians have done some outstanding work, and really relish the challenge. As all our machines are manufactured in-house, it gives us the flexibility to produce completely bespoke systems and find innovative solutions for customers."

Another recent jetter conversion project had the technicians feeling the heat. Featherstone based LD Environmental Services asked the company to produce a dual-purpose machine with a cold-water feed for drain jetting and a hot-water feed for the high-pressure cleaning of street furniture.

Understanding the performance requirements for the system was key to the design. The team developed a custom 6000psi unit that was fitted with a hot water boiler and the facility to switch between hot and cold-water feeds, providing ample performance to tackle the toughest jobs.

James Burke says Andy Guest have several exciting projects in the pipeline for 2017: "Alongside the launch of the new V-Pack 1 Series - a lightweight, compact and powerful jetting machine - we've begun developing a new range of trailer-mounted jetters. The prototype unit is currently being built at our manufacturing base in Keighley and we hope to launch in the second quarter of 2017."

He also added that both Rioned and Andy Guest Jetters were well ahead with developments in readiness for new emissions regulations in 2019/2020, "which will change our industry dramatically... more to come soon on this."