Stevens Equipment Rental Supports Kishorn Port Expansion
Stevens Equipment Rental is supporting RJ McLeod with more than 20 major machines at Kishorn Port in Scotland. The equipment is helping deliver one of the UK’s most significant dry dock expansion projects.
The project involves extending the existing dry dock and creating nine hectares of new laydown land. In addition, around one million tonnes of excavated sandstone is being processed and reused on site.
Heavy Equipment Tackles Challenging Ground
The Stevens Equipment Rental fleet includes Volvo A45 and A30 articulated haulers, Volvo EC550, EC400 and EC300 excavators, and Volvo L180 wheel loaders. Caterpillar 352 excavators, D7 and D6 dozers are also working on the site.
The project requires the excavation of more than 450,000 cubic metres of Torridonian sandstone. This dense and highly abrasive rock places significant demands on excavators, buckets and hauling equipment.
Meanwhile, drilling and blasting operations are producing large sandstone boulders. These are suitable for use as rock armour for quayside protection. Other material is processed and crushed for reuse across the development.
Fleet Designed for Productivity
Machine selection has been important because the equipment must operate as a coordinated system. Heavy excavators load articulated haulers, while a hammer-equipped excavator breaks oversized sandstone for the mobile crusher.
Afterward, wheel loaders and dozers help move, spread and compact the processed material. As a result, the fleet supports excavation, crushing, haulage and site preparation without relying heavily on imported material.
Due to Kishorn’s remote location, uptime is also a major consideration. Stevens Equipment Rental has kept key parts and fluids on site. Furthermore, an engineer is based at the project for most weeks to support maintenance and respond quickly to equipment issues.
Focus on Total Site Output
The Kishorn Port expansion reflects a wider shift in large-scale earthmoving. Contractors are increasingly focusing on complete fleet performance rather than individual machine rental costs.
Mark Need, sales manager for Scotland and the north of England at Stevens Equipment Rental, said productivity depends on how machines work together. Therefore, matching excavators, haulers and dozers is essential to maintaining production and protecting project schedules.
At Kishorn, Caterpillar D7 dozers work alongside D6 models to increase spreading and trimming capacity. In addition, 45-tonne articulated haulers provide high payload capacity for longer internal movements.
High-Specification Machines
The extreme sandstone conditions have also influenced equipment specifications. Stevens Equipment Rental fitted its heavy excavators with reinforced buckets from HSM Buckets in Sunderland.
Custom ground-engaging tools are also being used to protect bucket components and reduce unplanned downtime. Moreover, many machines are fitted with, or prepared for, 3D machine control to improve productivity.
Safety technology is another priority. Almost all machines are equipped with 360-degree cameras and human-form detection systems.
With construction progressing to schedule, RJ McLeod remains on track to complete the expanded dry dock infrastructure. The project also marks a significant milestone for the contractor, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.
