Digger Guard is a new range of plastic security shields that wrap around the cabs of construction machinery when out of service to counter thieves and vandals. They are made from recyclable polymer materials.

Newcastle-based plastics manufacturer Norplast Ltd developed the patented Digger Guard in response to a project brief from Hitachi to design a vandal guard to overcome problems with existing systems used to protect excavator cabs.

With Hitachi as its first major customer, Norplast is overseeing the roll out of its Digger Guard products on models of excavator across the UK.

“The existing products on the market had a number of problems that Hitachi Construction Machinery wanted to improve upon,” said Norplast managing director Dave Smith. “They were difficult to install and remove, heavy and prone to wear, noisy, and not watertight when stored. It was clear to us that there was considerable room for improvement, and we delivered on that for Hitachi with Digger Guard.”

He added: “Construction industry machinery is exposed to extensive risk of costly damage both accidentally and through vandalism. With Digger Guard we have achieved improvements that we’re confident will save operators time on the job, and reduce both down-time and insurance costs.”

A Hitachi Construction Machinery spokesperson said: “Norplast successfully addressed every problem we originally set out for them to tackle. They’ve designed vandal guards for various models of our excavators and fit-test them at our sites as part of the service. We’re pleased to pass on the benefits of the Digger Guard system to our customers and end-user operators.”