Ecocem Ireland for Ireland and Europe, John Sisk & Son Ecoplant: Leading the way in the green plant hire revolution – Sean Breen. Managing Director, Ecoplant

Ecoplant – leading the way in the green plant hire revolution

Since it first started operations in 2008, Ecoplant has been Ireland’s only dedicated battery- and electric-powered plant hire company. It is committed to meeting all of its customers’ requirements for green, clean, zero-emission, compact and low-noise machines.

By the time he founded Ecoplant, Sean Breen, founder and Managing Director, had accumulated extensive engineering experience in core cutting, cement and construction operations at home and abroad. His on-the-ground experience of construction sites informed many of the design decisions for the machinery and plant that Ecoplant offers.

Sean Breen’s vision for the company was to leverage the increasing interest in green construction and develop green products that deliver without compromising power or robustness. Many plant and project managers have begun to see electric- and battery-powered plant as a low hanging fruit in the sustainable construction mix and a more efficient and practical alternative to traditionally-fuelled plant.

CUSTOMISED PLANT SOLUTIONS Ecoplant’s service teams can develop customised plant solutions to meet each client’s specific needs, in addition to offering a comprehensive aftercare service.

ECOPLANT PRODUCTS Ecoplant’s substantial fleet of the latest battery- and electric-powered plant and machinery is perfect for all types of demolition and construction projects across the construction, tech and pharma sectors.

The full range of plant includes the ED dumper range, battery and electric excavators, robotic machines with breakers, road/wall/floor saws, trench compactors, generators, electric telehandlers, pokers, power floats, conveyors, forklifts, and up to 4.5T robotic demolition machines.

As Ecoplant manufactures many of the products that it supplies, it is ideally placed to analyse user experience and add additional features if required to meet customers’ evolving needs.

“We have designed enhancements and improvements to commercially available excavators, improving power and user operation and delivering reliable improvements and user operability,” explains Breen.

ECOVOLVE “Our sister company Ecovolve created an energy-efficient battery-powered dump truck and loader range that leads the way in delivering robust, low maintenance, zero emissions construction machinery. Our global distribution network now stretches from ANZ, through the Middle East, the EU and the UK and into the US, Canada and Latin America markets.”

Breen cites the example of the company’s Robotic Descale Arm as an early innovation that he developed to address a health and safety challenge for the cement manufacturing industry.

“The Robotic Descale Arm is a product we developed for cement production plants in the noughties. This tool is used to descale and demolish refractory and brick inside preheater towers remotely. With its remote capabilities, the Robotic Arm Descale Tool works outside the risk zone. This system and method are suitable in various industries where build-up occurs due to raw material processing. It decreases plant closure times and increases productivity, saving time and money.”

Breen adds that the Ecoplant range is exceptionally robust compared to traditional plant and equipment.

“It is more powerful than traditional plant while being quieter, and, of course, it has no emissions. We only stock plant that does not need on-site fuel and can work a full day once charged.”

GREEN, CLEAN AND SILENT In short, Breen describes the Ecoplant range as “Green, clean, zero-emission, low-noise specialised plant that can meet any on-site challenge. This is borne out by years of experience of working and using the plant. It is also ergonomically efficient and operator friendly.”

Ecoplant’s customer list includes all of the leading contractors; Sisk, BAM Ireland, John

Sean Breen, founder and Managing Director, Ecoplant.

1/2 Tonne (Brokk 60)

Remote Digger

1 Tonne Battery Electric Digger Ride-On Digger

1 Tonne Brokk 90

Remote Digger

1.3 Tonne Hybrid (TB210R) Ride-On Digger

2 Tonne Hybrid (TB216) Ride-On Digger

2 Tonne Brokk 180

Remote Digger

3 Tonne Brokk 280

Remote Digger

4 Tonne Brokk 330

Remote Digger

Electric Forklift

500Kgs Battery Wheelbarrow

800Kgs / 1 Tonne / 1.5 Tonne Hi-Tip Electric Battery Powered Dumper Truck Ride-On / Walk Behind Saws (Floor, Wall)

Power floats

Compaction Plate / Wacker

Cable

Generators

Electric Telehandler

Conveyors Folding Portable Yard Ramp

Vaculift

*can be hired with Multiple machines

Paul, Hegarty Demolition, and many smaller contractors and specialists requiring plant.

Breen adds, “Using our many years of experience and expert knowledge, our team consults with our clients regarding their specific jobs to ensure that they avail of the best combination of plant to meet the new environmental regulations. Whether it’s on hire from Ecoplant or another supplier, the relationship we build is based on what’s best for the project and what’s the most environmentally-friendly solution.

Plus, the reduction in labour costs, the cost of PPE related to those labour hours and the greening of our clients’ projects is something on which we can give impartial advice. This delivers for our clients’ environmental commitments and improves their Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) ratings, which are becoming a very important KPI on projects.”

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Breen says that the plant Ecoplant offers several other distinct advantages over traditional combustion-powered plant.

“Our plant speeds up the completion of projects. Zero emissions reduce the carbon footprint of any build. And, because the equipment is quiet, there is no noise pollution, so in many cases, sites in built-up areas can have extended hours of operation.”

He continues, “The plant also ticks the health and safety box on many levels, including the fact that there is no requirement for flammable fuel stores on site. This also makes sites less attractive for thieves and deals with the whole area of mishandling of fuels.

“The reliability of the plant is also far higher, and therefore servicing is much less. In addition, the plant facilitates better on-site communications.

“Our corporate commitment to a more sustainable business includes a fleet of 100% electric EV delivery and support vans and our off-grid recharging of equipment, both in place and planned. All of our local staff use e-bikes or walk to work, and we will be a fully carbon-neutral company by 2025.”

BETTER ON-SITE COMMUNICATIONS “An important point is that you can hear your colleagues when working these machines, so information flow is easier. We’ve had many machines on pharma construction projects across the most recent period. These projects are moving to zero emissions equipment, as noise and fumes are increasingly not being allowed in production environments.”

Breen states that his company’s plant facilitates reductions in job completion timeframes and, as a result, brings follow-on reductions in project costs.

“Our products enable faster job completion, bring reduced fuel costs, increased operator safety, with reduced emissions overall and a greater margin for contractors.”

A GREEN CONSTRUCTION FUTURE Ecoplant is currently expanding its fleet. A new range of telehandlers was recently delivered, with one of the new telehandlers going straight out the door to a pharma project.

“Our diggers are all going very well at the moment,” Breen explains, “and we have new rollers in the pipeline for later this year. Planned and controlled expansion is how we’ve grown the business over the past few years, as we work to ensure that we have what our customers need when they need it.

HEALTH AND SAFETY Health and safety is the priority on all sites. As we move forward from the Covid-19 shutdowns, we all know that sites will operate differently. Health and safety and the drive for greater efficiency will mean that there will be fewer people on site. Many contractors have also made substantial inroads into reducing their carbon footprint. So, as standards improve, so too will the quality of the plant used on all sites.

“Ecoplant consults and advises on what is best practice and most efficient for our clients’ projects and jobs. We advise on what is the best combination of equipment to complete the project quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively,” Sean Breen comments.

He adds that Ecoplant is already part of the Irish construction’s green revolution and is making the industry a safer, more attractive place for young people to build a career.

“Having worked in construction, I also know that one of the biggest on-site enemies is unnecessary noise. Look at how quiet tower cranes always have been. This level of operator comfort needs to be delivered on the ground and electrically powered equipment, as well as being more powerful in many instances, is much nicer to work around.”

ADDITIONAL SERVICES Ecoplant offers full pre-hire training where applicable. It has delivery/collection options from all sites and on-site and off-site support 24/7. In addition, it has an extensive range of back-up equipment available for when unplanned events require fast solutions.

For more details, phone 057 862 6669, email info@ecoplant.ie, visit www.ecoplanthire.ie, or scan the QR code.