Wetherby Skip Services also now operates at additional sites in Leeds, York, Harrogate, Tadcaster and Castleford. As well as skip hire, the company is also active in site clearance, disposal of hazardous waste and the supply of crushed and recycled stone as well as screened topsoil.
Owner Mark Kent said: “We had our first Harsh skips 15 years ago, and have been really impressed with their durability and reliability. Waste work is hardly the most gentle of truck applications so we need chassis and bodywork that really can go the distance. Typically we’ll keep our trucks for five years, then sell them on. We’ve found that residual values for a Harsh skiploader on a premium chassis will always give us a best possible return. In terms of overall cost of ownership, that’s a significant factor.”
Kent added: “The trucks work hard and we expect a lot from them, so day-in, day-out reliability and durability are absolutely paramount. In skip work, it’s the bodywork that takes the real beating which, in turn, shows that the Harsh units are really up to the job.”
Over the years, continual improvements have been made in their materials, construction techniques and specifications. One of the advances has been the introduction of electronic remote control, operated by the driver by a ‘TV Remote’- sized handset.
Harsh managing director Adam Hargreaves said: “Remote control allows the driver to stand anywhere around the truck whilst skips are being loaded or unloaded. In turn this means a massive improvement in operating safety, not least to third parties. An early proponent of this technology, Harsh now offers this feature as standard equipment, whilst still including the traditional bodyside lever systems for back-up if ever needed.”