road plate hire

Southdown Engineers are looking for: *Workshop / HGV Service Advisor*

Required to act as the key link between customers, suppliers, and workshop technicians.

A fast-paced, organised role supporting daily workshop operations and customer service.

Call 01273 493300 for additional information.

Southdown Engineers are looking for: *HGV / Plant Mechanic*

Experienced HGV / Plant Mechanic required to service, maintain, and repair HGVs, trailers, and plant equipment.

Hands-on role for a skilled, reliable engineer.

Call 01273 493300 for additional information.

This project had a long tail. We were contacted by the bridge manufacturer back in the spring, regarding working with them again on a tricky Right of Way (RoW) bridge replacement.

The old wooden version had been condemned and despite every effort to restrict access, Joe Public was hell-bent on using it anyway!

After various meetings and assessments, we were contracted by Bracknell Forest Council directly to deliver a turnkey solution for the following:

• Receive 16.25 metre long bridge in the UK at our Sussex facility – unload, store and facilitate sub-contractor access for railing fixtures etc.
• Install and subsequently remove a 400 metre section of TUFF TRAK heavy duty temporary access across a sensitive water meadow including parts of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
• Road transport to site.
• Transfer bridge from highway to lift zone.
• Lift in and install next to the river.

And all this within a five-day week!

As it transpired, thanks to sterling efforts by Ryan and the team, we actually handed the site over a day early.

Well done everyone.

Photos care of Ryan Russell, Scott Tait and Connel Preston.

Tasked with collecting a 40ft x 12ft office cabin, weighing c. 4 tonne, from Pevensey and deliver it to KSD Mackley, in Newhaven, it needed proper planning and teamwork, involving 4 of the Southdown squad.

Rendezvousing in Pevensey first thing was Carl in one of the fleet’s 32 tonne rigids fitted with a Hiab capable of craning more than 11 tonne at 6 metres, so a pretty easy lift onto Lugs’ artic for transport.

Being a wide load, and adhering to all the necessary road-safety precautions and the company’s FORS standard, ‘Lugs’ needed a ‘2nd man’, Matt, to keep a 2nd pair of eyes all round and in the mirrors and for any potential hazard or obstacle that might result in a roadblock or complete disaster. Up front was stalwart Tony, in the 4×4 escort vehicle, with hazard lights on and WIDE LOAD sign above the cab to courteously encouraging drivers to make way for the oncoming convoy.

After a thankfully unadventurous 75 minute trip along the south coast to Newhaven, and Chapter 8 barriers helping create a safe unloading area, the cabin was carefully lifted from Lugs’ artic to terra firma. Job done, just going to prove the old phrase that “teamwork makes the dream work”!

1. You get an unmatched range of cranes at your disposal. 

Our crane hire offering is backed by a fleet of modern, meticulously maintained cranes designed for a wide range of lifting operations. Whether your project demands delicate handling for high-rise construction or heavy-duty performance for industrial tasks, we have equipment that meets and exceeds industry standards, including: 

• Very heavy duty lorry loading cranes
• Lorry loading cranes
• Traction only articulated trucks
• 4×4 Towing vehicle and light duty trailer
• Drop side HIAB with loading crane
• Max payload
• Super heavy lift
• Heavy lift
• Long reach
• Super urban
• The Mule
• 50 Tonner/Metre Beavertails
• Wagon & Drag, Hiab drag trailers
• Trombone trailers
• Low-loader trailers + step-frame or flat
• Curtainsides with open roofs
• Short stubby trailers
• The latest addition to the fleet is the iconic long-haul Volvo FH, being heavy duty yet versatile, with a HIAB reach of more than 28 metres.

2. You get a non-mechanical plant division.

For almost 30 years we’ve been helping clients by delivering and either renting or selling them essential non-mechanical plant, with the same responsive service as our transport division, and stock holding levels that makes us a trusted partner and provider of a wide range of cross-hired equipment, including:

• Road Plate Hire
• Trench Shoring Hire
• Site Storage Hire
• Site Welfare and Accommodation
• Barriers and Fencing Hire
• Temporary Pathways, Pedestrian and Footway Boards
• Temporary Roadway and Ground Protection
• Ramps and Chutes
• Crane Mats and Timber Products

With nationwide transport operations we understand that reliable, professional transport is the lifeblood of 21st century industry.

Delivering and positioning cargo with the same vehicles keeps costs down, avoids expensive crane hire and saves space on site. So whether you are a multinational with a craning project or a self builder with a tricky delivery on site Southdown Engineers Ltd has a solution to suit you.

3. You get in-house, expert technical services.

When you need something more than transport or plant, our dedicated technical teams are on hand to help, whether it’s fabricating something you just won’t get off the shelf, to getting your truck back on the road, escorting an abnormal load or needing a safe and effective lift plan. Again, tell us what you need and we’ll come up with a solution, or two.  

• Fabrication and welding
• Repair and maintenance
• Abnormal load escorts
• Lift planning

4. You get time to talk through sites and scenarios.

Few site situations or problems are exactly the same, so it’s unlikely that what worked last time fits perfectly this time. Also, we don’t want clients to take unnecessary risks that could have disastrous consequences. Sadly, we see too often enquiries decided purely on the lowest price possible…

By fully understanding your situation, the site challenges and restrictions, even budgetary constraints, we’re able to advise clients properly based on our vast experience of similar situations, confidence in our fleet and operators, and proven engineering calculations all of which combine to ensure everyone is safe and the job executed perfectly. 

5. You get the peace of mind and confidence of dealing with a fully accredited and insured supplier (and partner).

6. You get the personal service you’d expect from a longstanding  family business, with a great reputation that we want to preserve, as well as yours too, of course!

7. You get guaranteed reliability and consistency as we only employ our own loyal, trained drivers and operators.  Our staff and drivers are all in training programmes, keeping abreast with industry developments, technological advances, improvements in health and safety and good working practice.

8. You get looked after amongst the growing number of very happy customers, many of whom first heard about us through recommendations.

JUST SOME OF OUR INTERESTING AND CHALLENGING REQUESTS:

• 3 heavyweights pull together in a tight space
• Low loading to the highest standard at Liberty Bridge
• Rapidly deployed road plates at Battersea Power Station
• Swift deployment to scupper travellers
• Last-minute help for 80 tonne crane movement
• Positioning Europe’s largest indoor tree

Call us for a friendly chat and advice the next time you’re looking for transport or lifting vehicles, or non-mechanical plant delivery or installation as we have almost unlimited permutations and breadth of solutions to offer, saving you time, hassle and money, being key reasons long-standing clients choose Southdown for their equipment and logistical requirements.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Wildhut was established by two British female entrepreneurs, Lisa Deller and Thaisa Box, who were passionate about raising awareness of the staggering psychological and physiological health benefits of authentic, high-end luxury outdoor sauna cabins.

With a Tuli 4-person garden sauna to deliver to a new client in the New Forest, Wildhut approached Southdown to see whether they could coordinate its tricky installation, including transport and careful positioning of the sauna hut in the client’s rear garden, across manicured lawns, through the trees, past the football goals and over the chalet into its final destination on a pre-installed concrete pad. And relax!

Ground protection would also be essential along this winding grassed route, to spread the weight of one of the company’s many 32 tonne rigid lorries plus this fully-assembled sauna cabin. So the team laid anti-slip ground mats, made from recycled polypropylene and able to support a 45 tonne lorry. But so too would a couple of steel road plates to one garden section where previous muck-away lorries had caused a significant dip that would otherwise have rendered the route impassable for a lorry. With everything in place, the delivery commenced.

The job went seamlessly – and to plan – but that’s the benefit of having all these elements within the business: combining the ground protection and crossing plate installation team with expert drivers in the transport team.

For more details on any of our transport or HIAB services, or advice on anything from lifting plans deliveries to abnormal load escorts, give us a call on 01273 493300.

Or if you’ve a sauna, hot-tub, spa, swim-spa or pool shell to install, and it needs transport to or lowering into your intended location, over your house, cave, trees – or even your neighbour’s house – then we can also take away the stress and sweat (in a slightly different way to one of these delightful Wildhut saunas) by making it all happen smoothly, on time and within budget. Give us a call!

Photos courtesy of Conner Cole

Built in 1850, for almost 2 decades it was the love nest of Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh between 1937 and 1956. Being just 2,042 square foot in size, according to Zoopla, this cosy little cottage was sold in 2014 for just £6.8 million (apparently in totally unmodernised condition).

But major works are now being undertaken at the property, with a vast basement created to add a significant amount of extra space when preserving the character and uniqueness of a property with such a history isn’t an option. New UK basements must not be more than 1 storey high and not exceed the property footprint, plus a maximum of 50% of the garden. According to Architecture for London, a finished basement typically costs between £5,000 and £8,000/sqm excluding VAT and fees. 

The basement excavation at Durham Cottage included part of the front garden, which also provided access for two massive steel beams (measuring up to 7.4 metres and weighing in at almost 3 tonnes) to be gently lowered about 4 metres down onto a new solid concrete basement floor in readiness for the two beams to be welded together and then raised into place to support the front of the house.

The lorry deployed was a 32 tonne rigid, with a crane maximum lift exceeding 11 tonnes at 6 metres reach, so easily capable of getting these steels safely and carefully into place.

Southdown Engineers’ Truck and Crane division offering is backed by a fleet of modern, meticulously maintained cranes designed for a wide range of lifting operations. Whether your project demands delicate handling for high-rise construction or heavy-duty performance for industrial tasks, we have equipment that meets and exceeds industry standards. Every machine is regularly serviced and operated by skilled professionals, ensuring that each lift is executed safely, efficiently, and to your exact specifications.

Call 01273 493300 for one of the experienced team to advise and quote or click on this “Get a Quote” link to make an online enquiry.

Photos courtesy of Carl Somner

Brighton & Hove Albion FC’s state-of-the-art training and teaching facility, American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, is a Category One status training centre under the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan.

The facility includes 11 full and half size natural grass and artificial pitches, plus a half size covered indoor pitch, ensuring playing facilities are accessible and playable throughout the seasons.

With a pitch due for renewal Brighton called in Chappelow Sports Turf and were faced with a conundrum: where do you put diggers, lorries and tonnes of the current pitch, being a mixture of sand and synthetic grass for recycling? In the car park, of course! 

To protect the car park from tracked vehicles and grab lorries, Chappelow asked Southdown Engineers to install 100 of their 3m x 1m x 20mm HDPE ground protection mats because they’re chemically resistant, anti-slip and on the Community Stadium solid car park surface, are robust enough for traversing with steel tracked plant and trucks up to 45 tonnes. With their smooth side up they were very effective for making a barrier between deposited spoil and the grab and tip lorry, leaving the protected surface intact.

From start to finish, the job took just 2 weeks with a new all-weather synthetic training pitch laid and the car park left intact!

For more information about the most appropriate of our many ground protection systems to use on your site, call us on 01273 493300 and one of the team will be happy to advise/visit and quote.

Charleston Trust – 2025 Festival – Overflow Car Park Ground Protection

The Charleston Trust is a charity set up in 1980 to restore and maintain the home of the Bloomsbury Group artists for the benefit of the public. The unique collection at Charleston is illustrative of the art and lifestyle of the influential Bloomsbury Group and has been on show to the public since 1986. Charleston attracts visitors from the local community as well as the rest of the UK and abroad. Today, it presents a dynamic year-round programme of exhibitions, events and festivals at Charleston in Firle.

Previous events had left obvious reminders of how unpredictable weather can cause havoc and damage to fields used for temporary car parks.

When planning the 2025 Charleston Festival, the Trust asked Southdown Engineers to advise on the most appropriate ground protection for the overflow car park to provide a ‘clean feet’ path for visitors whilst also preventing damage to the grass or vehicles getting stuck should inclement weather make the field boggy and slippy.  Our advice was placement of our very popular ‘Zigmats’, incorporating zig-zag pattern grip for more efficient traction whilst still being comfortable to walk over. 

Zigmats are a medium duty and relatively lightweight mat with low transportation and handling costs, making them fast and easy to install. In fact, our dedicated team of 2 ground mat installers laid and connected 300 Zigmats and 600 connectors in just 12 hours. So if you want the temporary or overflow car park at your event, festival, show or even wedding, contact us on 01273 493300 and one of the team will be happy to advise/visit site and quote you the most appropriate and cost-effective ground protection.