Suffolk-based plant hire and contracting company JJ Sugrue has added its first HD Hyundai HX85A compact excavator to the fleet, with a second machine already on order.

Supplied by local dealer Ernest Doe & Sons, the 8.5-tonne excavator is the 38th HD Hyundai machine to be purchased by the company.

Started by Jerry Sugrue in 2006, as an owner operator business, the company has grown steadily to a fleet of almost 200 machines, with more than 80 staff on the payroll. Sugrue’s first excavator was also an 8-tonner, which was traded in to Ernest Doe for a 13-tonne HD Hyundai in 2013. That machine was supplied from Doe’s head office in Ulting, Essex, but since then Sugrue has dealt exclusively with Doe’s Wymondham depot, which is closer to the firm’s Saxmundham base.

That depot is manager by Chris Bunn

JJ Sugrue general manager Tim Sugrue says: “We have a really good working relationship. Ernest Doe are really good, but it’s about Chris. We talk every day. It’s all about the back-up. I can ring at night and someone will be there to the machine in the morning.”

Working across East Anglia and beyond, the Sugrue fleet currently number nearly 30 Hyundai machines, ranging from the R17 mini excavator through to HX145A mid-weight excavators. Indeed, the company has run every model of HD Hyundai excavator up to the 14-tonner, other than the R55, over the last decade.

“They are really good machines,” says Tim Sugrue. “They are good value for money, reliable and the longevity is excellent. We usually change our equipment at four or five years, but we have had some of the HD Hyundais for longer than five years. The paint quality in particular is really good and it doesn’t dull on older machines.”

The HX85A has a Stage V Yanmar diesel engine and a load sensing hydraulic system. It is available with monoboom or two-piece articulated boom and a four-way angle dozer blade.

The machine’s compact dimensions and rubber tracks make it popular on house-building sites. Sugrue’s HX85A has a hydraulic quickhitch for rapid bucket changes without the operator having to leave the cab. The machine also works with pallet forks, allowing it to move materials and carrying out lifting duties, adding to its versatility.

“It’s the perfect size,” says Sugrue operator Tony Gear. “The machine has a lot more power and lifting capability than our older 8-tonners, it is really good for lifting, but it is the right size for a house building site. The cab is a great place to spend the day as well, with plenty of space, it’s really comfortable.”

Tim Sugrue concludes: “The Hyundais have always been good but this generation is just better than before.”