UK company develops levelling attachment for site dumpers

A new material levelling attachment for site dumpers is being launched by a UK contractor and plant hirer.

Devon-based contractor and hirer Peter Moore has developed the NudgeBlade, a levelling attachment that can be fitted to 3, 4, 5 or 6 t dumpers of any brand in just three hours. The attachment will allow contractors to carry out tipping and levelling in a single operation.

NudgeBlade supplies a complete fitting kit, which comprises a permanent bracket that connects to the dumper's frame and axle. The levelling blade is moved by a button that controls a hydraulic ram.

The frame can be removed in a matter of minutes by taking out two pins, leaving the permanent bracket in place for future use. The bracket is always above the level of the axle, ensuring that the axle clearence of the dumper is maintained.

There are different sizes of attachment for different dumpers and prices are expected to range from around £2600 for the smallest unit up to £3400 for the largest.

"I've spent years mulling over the problem", Mr Moore said; "Every contractor knows that a man and a machine are needed to spread dumped material, and with travel time and the fact that the dumper driver is often idle while the levelling is done, the whole cycle wastes time and money."

"I kept running it through my mind and then one day I had my ‘Eureka' moment while I was eating my sandwiches. I packed up for the day, went to the timber yard and bought enough timber to mock-up a prototype."

Mr Moore developed the concept for a further two and a half years and a working model has been fitted to his own dumper for the past six months.

Mr Moore and two locally based partners, Nick Matson (sales and marketing) and Jeremy Grant (engineering and production), have formed the NudgeBlade company and are now ready to market it internationally.

The product, which has a patent pending, will be officially launched at the 2011 SED exhibition in Corby, UK, on 17-19 May at the Rockingham Motor Speedway site. The company is holding an open day on 18 November in Devon, UK at a local farm to showcase the NudgeBlade.

Mr Matson said the attachment will "change the way you work, forever...This product is so simple and yet so brilliant. We are coming to SED to show the NudgeBlade and hope to educate the contractor that there really is no other product like this on the market - and when quoting for jobs - there's no competing with it as you only need one man and one machine!

"I am confident that this product will take off and hirers, contractors etc. will recoup their investment in a short space of time."