EXECUTIVE REPORT
Postpullers MD, Stuart Archer.
Pulling power
From the heart of the Black Country, Postpullers’ products are now in demand worldwide. All are based on the singular principle of pulling posts and road barriers out of the ground. Andy met with MD Stuart Archer to find out more…
In terms of company names that encapsulate their offering, ‘Postpullers’ delivers exactly as suggested. The firm produces just two product lines, both manufactured at engineering specialists Strimech in Walsall - the Fence Master and its larger stablemate, the Barrier Master. Both utilise hydraulic pressure in order to make quick and safe work of extracting fence posts, pillars, concrete- embedded poles, motorway barriers and suchlike.
There’s rather more to tell about the company than that, as genial MD Stuart Archer happily relates. But where did the idea originate and how did he enter the picture?
The Fence Master is able to extract wooden or concrete posts with ease.
“I joined Postpullers (UK) Ltd. in 2012 when the initial prototypes of the ‘Postpuller’ were being developed. Coming from a background in plant hire, I knew how robust and durable machines needed to be to withstand the rigours of the industry,” he begins. “We spent the next year
carrying out field testing, refining the product, ensuring CE compliance and expanding the range. By late 2013, the Fence Master was born, making its formal debut at the Executive Hire Show in 2014.
“Development of what was to become Barrier Master began in 2014 with a working prototype. After collaborating with A-one+, who carried out extensive trials, a complete Barrier Master range was launched in 2016. Since then, it has won numerous awards which endorse its exceptional performance within the highways industry.”
The effectiveness of the Fence Master and Barrier Master is written in tonnes of pulling force, and proven in time saved. The former exceeding 4 tonnes and the larger of the two Barrier Master variants attaining an impressive 15 tonnes - even the mid-sized unit can manage 10 tonnes - but both have proven to be ten times faster than current methods. It seems that convincing potential clients of such dazzling efficaciousness was not always as easy, however.
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“We were asked to do a demo of the Barrier Master for A-one+ on the M62,” says Stuart. “The foreman told me there was nothing wrong with the way he’d been removing barriers for the last 30 years, using a HIAB and a three-man crew. I said there was, because people had lost their lives carrying out post extraction, when posts under tension can break loose and effectively become projectiles. He then set a test and buried two posts in 1.5m3
concrete blocks, claiming that we weren’t
going to get them back out again. It took us less than ten seconds to do each one, after which he shook my hand and said he was impressed, as nothing else could have pulled them out. The Barrier Master is now specified on all UK A-one+ highway projects.”
Both devices are so obviously built to last that I wondered if they were owned by customers rather than hired?
“Most are owned, but we do supply to a number of hire companies,” explains Stuart. “They make a pretty good hire return, actually, as they’re reliable, durable, easy to use and don’t require much in the way of servicing.
“The Fence Master goes well in hire. We once designed a Honda- powered one, but it was heavier, more expensive to manufacture, with more parts, and I’m not really interested in selling the odd one or two. I suppose we would if we had a bulk order, though.”
If the Fence Master was the original product in the Postpullers portfolio, how was the Barrier Master devised?
“We were asked to demo the Fence Master by Carillion,” says Stuart. “We thought we’d done quite well too, as they had indicated
The Fence Master can pull with a force exceeding four tonnes, as seen on this test rig.
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