Ivan Idea

When an earthworks and drainage contractor from County Antrim watched his costs soar for hiring in transport to move his plant machinery around sites, he decided to do something about it

- Chris McCullough

Ivan Lynn’s business, I J Lynn & Sons, carries out all manner of excavator work in the construction and agricultural industries, from excavating foundations to clearing drains on farms.

His company, which employs 20 people full-time and is based in Armoy, near Ballymoney in County Antrim, works on various sites around Northern Ireland at any one time and, owing to the nature of the work, Ivan needs a large fleet of machinery to assist him and his team.

But working on several sites at once does mean that the three Cat excavators and numerous other plant machinery he runs always need shifting from site to site, sometimes at very short notice, depending on the job.

Ivan had always relied on a hired-in haulage contractor to come in and move his plant around his job sites. However, arranging this could be a complicated process.

Arrange in advance

“We had to arrange the movements in advance and at specific times and later rely on the haulier being there at that time,” Ivan says.

“Depending on the site location, like in a city centre for example, there are certain periods – such as early morning or late evening – when it’s best to move plant around with a large articulated unit and trailer combination.

“Therefore it is vital that the haulier is there at the time we need him to do the job,” he says. “Plus there are other situations when we have to move plant at short notice if it is urgently required on another site.

“That meant I had to call in the haulier again to move the equipment, which saw my costs adding up more and more. Also, when major holiday periods were coming up, I had to transport all the machinery back to my base in Armoy, which is about 50 miles from Belfast city centre, to store it during the breaks.