Black Beauty Set to Rock Glastonbury

Taking a look back at one of my articles previously published in Earthmovers and bringing it to life un-edited on the internet.

Based in the historically and culturally important town of Glastonbury, in Somerset, R.A. Stacey Plant Hire Ltd is a family run business which was founded by Roger Stacey in 1991 who at the time was working as a subcontractor for the South Western Electricity Board, more commonly known as SWEB, who were a state-owned electricity company covering the South West of England.

Work has continued on a contracting basis for Roger (56) who has since been joined in the business by his son Max (31) which now sees them working for the National Grid and Western Power along with five other employees. Their work predominantly involves installing wooden poles for overhead power cables, across farmer’s fields, excavation for underground cables and a wide range of associated utilities duties.

In the early years of the business Roger’s preferred backhoe loaders came from the CASE stable, Roger takes up the story, “Yeah I was always a CASE man from when I started up until Max came on really, he drove a CASE for a couple of years and in 2010 we bought a JCB, we had been up to the factory and they offered us a good deal on one and so we have been with JCB ever since through our dealer Holt JCB, at the end of the day we like to deal with people we know and we enjoy a good warranty deal on the product for peace of mind”.

Photo: Left. Roger Stacey & Right. Max Stacey

Talking about the decision to purchase the new DualDrive model Max said, “So we had ordered a new 4CX Pro and I later noted that they were launching the DualDrive system, so I messaged JCB’s backhoe loader guru Georgina Williams via Instagram to ask her if ours was going to be fitted with it, at the time she said no, but not long after our local rep called me to say that Georgina had been in touch to say that they would fit it to ours anyway, this move delayed the delivery for a bit longer, but its been well worth the wait!”.

This machine in stunning black livery was one of the first to be built with the DualDrive fitted, but the delivery was delayed because of the special black paintwork, so it wasn’t officially the first one out in the field.

Roger describes it as a complete game changer, “I’ve only just done 75 hours on her so far, but I’m finding I’m using the DualDrive all the time, its that useful for what we do, I can grab the poles with the backhoe, and then position the pole into the hole whilst facing the rear, it so intuitive. I can’t lie, it’s taken a bit of getting used to but once you get it, operating the machine is so much easier, as an example I was doing a bit of trenching work last week, and I never had to spin the seat round once, just brilliant!”.

According to Max, this is his first machine with servo joysticks, and somewhat surprisingly for someone so young, he has always preferred traditional cross pattern sticks. Max said, “All my machines previously have had sticks, however our 3CX Pro here now has the servos, but a lot of our other operators can’t operate so well with the sticks, which makes it difficult if I have any time off, so we’ve decided that going forward we will go servos as standard for our own flexibility, and of course the DualDrive machine has to be servos anyway.

I really like the whole DualDrive concept and I think it will totally change the way that they run now, and offer us so much more versatility in the way we work, wheeled diggers have always been my favourite machine to drive and this idea is just taking them to another level”.

A lot of modern-day operators are usually not keen on wheeled diggers with all the spinning around in the seat and constant repositioning of the base machine, but in this configuration all the faff is taken out of the operating procedure, and brings a level of Scandinavian style operation to the table. The likes of Huddig in Sweden and Lännen in Finland have had this function for decades so it’s great to see the British manufacturer offering it to the global market too.

When Max first started on the firm with his dad after leaving school they were running two wheeled diggers, and a mini excavator, with most of the work being undertaken by the wheeled diggers, however that has changed somewhat in the favour of mini excavators. Stacey’s chosen brand for mini excavators is Takeuchi, all too often the utility contractor’s favourite brand, the fleet comprises, 1 x sub one tonne, 2 x 1.5 tonners, 1 x 2.5 tonner, 1 x three tonner and 1 x 6 tonner, during the pandemic, largely due to supply issues from Japan, they did purchase a couple of Chinese Sany machines, but they have since been moved on.

Asked why they had decide to opt for the black paintwork on the 4CX Pro Max said, “To be honest with you we just wanted something a bit different, and you’d have to agree it does look stunning, would I go for it again, I’m not sure, as its very hard to keep clean, it’s a bit like a black car, they all look beautiful when washed and polished, but drive 5 minutes up the road and its lagged, its one of the reasons why we are putting in a new wash bay in the yard!”.

The 4CX Pro has been fitted with a hydraulic quick release front hitch, which allows him to drop off the bucket and pick up the rotary pole grab attachment, and a 10m hydraulic power hose reel on the side for powering hand breakers and other items such as a water pump, the forward-facing camera for the hitch had to be removed as their original pole planter attachment was going to foul the camera unit.

The base four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer, JCB 4CX Pro in its self is something of a beast in its own right, powered by JCB’s well proven EcoMAX engine which offers a power output rating of 81kw (109hp) this powerful machine is equipped with a huge 1.3-cubic metre 4-in-1 front bucket. At the other business end the machine features the standard extending dipper arm which can offer a maximum dig depth of around 5m. Powerslide is fitted for ease of repositioning of the backhoe to any position with just the flick of a switch in the cab a great feature which is much appreciated by operators, making the whole process so much easier.

This machine is fitted with the much-applauded Michelin XCML 440/80 R28 IND tyres which like many others before, Max describes as the best tyres on the market, and are especially suited for the type of work they do travelling across fields, often with weight on but causing very little surface damage, but with exceptional tread for when things get a bit sticky.

“I just love the fact that with these wheeled diggers, you can just gather up your work tools, and head off down the road under your own steam, without the need for tractors and trailers, I don’t have to worry about parking up any additional vehicles as I head straight into the field, do the job and head back again. Its no slouch either, with the 6-speed auto-shift transmission with TorqueLock, I can achieve over 40kph on the road so not much slower than truck on the road really”.

Photo: Max's trusty companion dog.

For two months of the year, Max has an interesting gig of his own, rubbing shoulders with pop and rock stars, when he is hired in to work on the 15000-acre site of the legendary Glastonbury Music Festival at nearby Pilton, in Somerset, another reason why Max wanted a standout machine for its regular appearance at the venue.

Max gave us the lowdown on what he gets up too there. “For most of us involved, the first four weeks during the build-up is pretty full on, working 7 days a week, my job with the wheeled digger involves levelling of tracks, filling in potholes, digging for and installing ducts for power cables and installing poles, they just love the wheeled digger once again for its mobility really as its such a large site and the fact that you can do a wide variety of tasks, there’s a bit of everything going on which is great, there’s a good bunch of contractors who work there and we have a good laugh while working, especially as we all stay on the site. While the festival is running, we generally only work during the day but we are on call 24/7 in case of any emergencies, for instance if there’s a leak, or we need to dig out some dirt, or scatter some wood chippings.

Then once the festival is over and the crowds are having left the site, we spend the next four weeks tidying up the mess, and dismantling the poles and other infrastructures that we installed for the event, it’s a great thing to be involved in and the bonus is we often get the chance to see the performances”.

Next June will be this machine’s first headline appearance at Glastonbury, lets hope Max can get an iconic shot of the stunning 4CX Pro in front of the Pyramid stage as the crowd shout “Whoa Black Betty bam-ba-lam!”.