08.06.2018

First Manitou 220J in UK

AFI group company Hampshire Plant & Access has taken delivery of the first Manitou 220J to arrive in the UK.

The 66ft straight boom, went straight out on its first job working on a fish farm operated by the Test Valley Trout Group, where it is helping with the installation of two acres of anti-predator netting on the trout production farm in Hampshire. The netting, which needs to be secured over the water, is the most effective and non-harmful option for preventing birds from taking the fish and will protect several ponds containing over 1.5 million fish. The Manitou 220J was recommended for its 21.63 metre outreach, and rough terrain capability, which made it easy to manoeuvre around the ponds on the site.
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The new Manitou 220J in action installing netting at the trout farm

Test Valley Trout chief executive Christopher Saunders-Davies said: “The trout are farmed with care and experience in our land based ponds. To prevent fish-eating birds reaching the fish stock, we needed to secure the nets. The challenges for us was about reach, as we had to get out to the middle of the water on each pond to tie and secure the nets. We have used Hampshire Plant for a number of years, on this project they worked with us to specify a suitable machine, which enabled us to gain the access we needed just above the water.”