STAND K50 MIGHTY MOVERS


Continuing our preview of new and returning EHS exhibitors, we caught up with Philip Oldham and Andrew Buckley of C&F Minidumpers.


I


t’s a cold and snowy morning, as I travel to Bredbury in Greater Manchester to meet


the team responsible for the C&F minidumper brand in the UK. The company itself might best be described as semi-EHS debutantes – they’ve been to the show before with one of their other businesses – those include Takeuchi dealership Parkway Plant Sales, Fast Hire & Sales, Arnold Plant Hire and H&C Plant Hire, all but the latter located on the same small estate. They’re only showcasing the C&F range at this year’s event, however.


“C&F is owned by the Capone family and manufactures six types of minidumper in various configurations, but we only focus on three of them. I think the brand has succeeded in the UK because of a relative lack of product variety and availability. Convincing people to swap brands is difficult, which is why we did the groundwork and introduced the equipment at the 2019 Executive Hire Show.”


And do C&F machines plug any gaps, or do anything differently – what are the USPs?


“The T85 model is the machine that first caught our attention in Belgium, and a unique feature is its hydraulic servo control system. Operators simply push a joystick in the direction they want to travel – it’s smoother and more instinctive than the traditional method of using two levers that you see on other machinery.


C&F Minidumpers Director, Philip Oldham.


Director Andrew Buckley undertakes the initial questioning. The C&F range is manufactured in Lecce, Italy, but how did it come into the business in the first place?


“MD Philip Oldham had travelled to Belgium to meet a chap who we’d sold a bit of used plant to, and he saw a C&F Dumper in his showroom. We were looking to add another product to our portfolio, and C&F didn’t have a UK network at the time. In 2018 we imported the first C&F Dumper and sent it out to work on British jobsites. In 2019 we officially became the UK importer, with the challenge of setting up a dealer network.”


“The other unique advantage is that users are able to


hold onto the dumper handrail while they’re operating the joystick with the other hand. These features are what attracted us to C&F, and no other machines have them. The servo system is currently used on two of the dumpers that we market.”


C&F UK has been able to suggest certain changes to the equipment, based on feedback from British users. What are they?


“It was a few little things, such as moving an ignition switch that was previously allowing water ingress. The Italian machines didn’t have a back bonnet on the engine, so we


changed that too. We introduced captive nuts on the side panels, so that they didn’t get lost when the panels were removed. We also changed the paint colours for the UK market – red and grey to match the Takeuchi machines in our fleet.


push a joystick in the direction they want to travel – it’s smoother and more instinctive than the traditional method of using two levers


‘‘


“However, the main change, which we’re hoping to introduce at the Executive Hire Show, is adding servo controls to the small T60 dumper. We’ve been pushing this for some time, but this will mean the feature is used across our entire range. Because C&F is such a small company changes can be made quickly, and that’s another advantage for our 11 UK dealers.”


’’


C&F UK markets three minidumpers at present, but others might soon be added to the range.


Operators simply


24 Executive Hire News - Jan/Feb 2022


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