A specialist contractor has given its first outing to a Dig A Crusher 900 bucket at a theme park in Blackpool. Harrisons Plant Ltd is using the new unit as part of a demolition contract to make way for a new white-knuckle ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
Harrisons Plant is using a 0.70 m3 capacity Dig A Crusher 900 bucket supplied by sole UK importer Worsley Plant Ltd to spearhead the concrete recycling phase of a contract to clear the way for a new white-knuckle ride known as Infusion. The new ride, which is being built at a cost of more than £8.0 million, will be a major attraction for the six million visitors expected at the Pleasure Beach during Summer 2007.
White-Knuckle Ride
With cascading walls of water, five loops and rolls, and a lake below, Infusion is almost 1.0 kilometres in length and is set to be the new centre-piece of Blackpool’s unique mix of traditional rides and cutting edge technology.
“Infusion is yet another example of major investment at Pleasure Beach,” says Pleasure Beach managing director, Amanda Thompson. “I know white knuckle fans will love this new addition to the park.”
Before then, local contractor Harrisons has been charged with removing the concrete and steelwork from the park’s former water flume ride. And it is here that the company’s new 70 tonnes/hour capacity Dig A Crusher attachment is playing a vital role.
Space at a Premium
Mounted on an Hitachi 200 hydraulic excavator, one of 17 in the company’s equipment fleet, the Dig A Crusher was purchased specifically to tackle crushing and recycling duties on sites with insufficient space for a stand-alone crusher.
“The Blackpool Pleasure Beach simply does not have the space for a large crusher. In fact, there isn’t even room for the storage of materials,” says managing director Ralph Harrison. “We bought the Dig A Crusher bucket specifically for cramped sites where space is at a premium and it’s proving ideal for this unusual application.”
Harrison reports that his company has been on the Blackpool site since November and expects to complete the contract by the end of February, in plenty of time for the park’s 2007 season opening in Spring.
“So far, we have removed in excess of 5,000 tonnes of concrete, all of it going through the Dig-a-crusher bucket,” Harrison continues. “We are processing between 300 and 400 tonnes a day as we’re on long shifts that run through until 8pm.”
Although this is the bucket’s first outing for Harrisons, Ralph Harrison is clearly delighted with his purchase. “The Dig A Crusher has performed very well and has coped with everything that we have asked of it. The vast majority of the material so far has been concrete slabs and foundations, which it has dealt with very effectively,” he concludes. “The Dig A Crusher 900 is a very neat piece of equipment. It has done all that we have asked of it and we’ll certainly be employing it on our other sites.
