AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal: Chichester based AMS Contractors Ltd were the first to invest in the latest machine from Lincolnshire based drainage experts Shelton Drainage Ltd after a visit to the BTME in January where Shelton launched the machine onto the market.

The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper has been designed to give the ability to backfill either gravel or sand at the flick of a switch, therefore reducing manual handling of the hoppers and giving improved efficiencies as the backfilling operation is much quicker and can keep up with the trencher, reducing downtime.

AMS Contracting offer a range of service in the amenity, groundworks and landscaping sector and already had a Shelton 3 Tonne Fast Flow in their fleet prior to purchase. AMS Director Myles Strange explained why they chose to invest and how the machine is performing: “We were looking for a machine that would allow us to do as many jobs as possible using one operator and one tractor, allowing us to reduce haulage and machinery costs associated with each job. Every job is different, you never know when you can backfill behind the trencher or use the central feed hopper following behind, so having a machine that does both was a no brainer! The machine also doubles up as a material handler which is very helpful with secondary drainage jobs. We opted to have the spreaders fitted on the back of ours which worked very well. We were previously using a 3T Fast Flow, which is a great machine on single pitch applications, but longer runs meant more fill ups and did take a bit more time, none the less, it’s great if you don’t have a bigger chassis tractor available. The machine was very easy to use, far more nimble than we expected as it is quite a large machine. The control box is very straightforward, with a lot of fine adjustments so you can get the machine to do exactly as you want. We were very impressed with how easily you could swap between gravel and sand, just one adjustment in the hopper which takes 2 minutes and you’re away. We opted for the sand spinners and stainless hopper extras on our machine.

All of our Shelton products have been excellent and I would recommend to all companies in sportsturf. Richard is always at the end of the phone if you have any questions and is very helpful at all times! This machine cut out a lot of hire, operator and haulage costs and we look forward to doing more business in the future.”

The unique design of the Universal means customers can choose from a number of different combinations: A stand alone Universal base unit or with the addition of any or all of the following options: A Gravel Cart (Side Discharge Unit), Sand Spreader or 6 Tonne Fast Flow (Centre Fill Unit).

Shelton will be on stand B112 with the Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper at IOG SALTEX.

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