Expanded fleet marks McAuliffe anniversary

Specialist environment contractor The McAuliffe Group, which works on rejuvenating brownfield sites for new housing projects, says it has doubled its turnover during the last two years.

The company at Loxdale Industrial Estate, Northcott Road, has responded by ordering eight new tipper trucks and a heavy-duty low loader vehicle from The Hartshorne Group, which operates nine Volvo dealerships across the Midlands.

Director Steve McAuliffe said: "The reason we have brought in new trucks is to cope with demand for our services from the construction industry.

"We've taken the bull by the horns by investing and it's going well for us. It's very timely because we are in our 45th year of doing business."

The company was founded in 1970 by Steve's father, Maurice McAuliffe, who started off with a single JCB digger. The firm now operates extensive plant and machinery and recently increased its staff to around 70.

"We do lots of work with major housing companies and if they buy an old factory site we will go in and re-profile the land from start to finish.

"We demolish the old buildings and remove any waste so that the ground workers can go in and build new homes.

"We recycle everything that we pull down and we also clean up sites by doing decontamination work. Environmental issues are very important to us," said Mr McAuliffe.

The waste materials that are recovered by McAuliffe are converted into aggregates and building materials. The company also has state-of-the art pumping equipment that can remove spillages from soil.

McAuliffe has been running Volvos since the 70s and Mr McAulife says he favours the vehicles because they retain a strong re-sale value. The new trucks are latest shape FM models with Powertronic automatic gearboxes. They meet latest emissions standards and will be used on a number of green projects.

Shaun Robson, truck sales executive at The Hartshorne Group in Birmingham, said: "We'd like to be the first to congratulate the McAuliffe Group on its 45th anniversary.

"We're very proud to be working with a such a well-established company that is committed to being environmentally friendly."

McAuliffe's directors are all members of the McAuliffe family, who are devoted to running the business. "We are here from 7 o'clock in the morning and if we have to work until 8 o'clock at night, we do," said Mr McAuliffe.

"We give customers what they want and they knew that when they ring our company they can speak directly to me or to one of the other directors.

"The company has been going for 45 years but we are still hands-on – and customers like that."