The PCP Group has grown over the last 30 years to become an international supplier of pumps and hoses. It is a family-owned business very much aware of its roots and inordinately proud of its reputation for professional service combined with old-fashioned courtesy and reliability.
Damian Shepherd, the company’s General Manager, explains, “My father started the business working from home with one Putzmeister concrete pump which he towed to jobs all over the country. Today, in our UK fleet we have over 130 machines, including Trailer Mounted Concrete Pumps, Grout Pumps and Agitator Remixers.” Subsequently Premier Concrete Pumping Ltd (PCP) is now the largest specialist hirer of its type in Europe.
Damian continues “We have a sister company, Premier Pipeline Ltd (PP), that we set up to supply Concrete Pump operators and the Geotechnical Industry with all of their running gear with specific emphasis on the supply of concrete pumping hose. As the sole importer of IVG Premier Shannon 100 heavy-duty hose, we offer the best product on the world market. As a result, we believe we are now selling more concrete pump hose by the metre than any other company in Europe!”
Another key area is that PP is the sole distributor for Prime-A-Pump (the leading safe and efficient alternative to using cement for grouting pumps and lines). PP worked in close partnership with Lansdowne Products to develop the formulation, which is now the UK’s most widely used primer.
According to Damian, “Our customers represent an A-Z of companies in the geotechnical and piling sectors in the UK and Ireland, many specialist contractors involved in Tunnelling and Railways as well as general construction companies.
We have been involved in recent times in some pretty prestigious projects. For example, at the Olympic Park, we have had up to 30 machines at a time on site, working on the Aquatic Centre, Main Stadium, the Velodrome, Media Centre and on the general infrastructure. Most of this work was with Piling Contractors pumping concrete into the ground so it’s nice to see what’s finally taken shape above.”
Another key project is the widening of the southern end of the M1 motorway. Here PCP has designed and developed a bespoke Silo and Grout Pump Trailer unit. Working with a consortium of contractors, this has changed the manner in which the geotechnical work has been carried out. The contractors came to PCP for this project to see if a solution could be developed with an eye to improving health and safety. Already the three units on site are producing extremely good results. PCP feels that this particular project is very important as “it shows what can be achieved by working in partnership and listening to your customers needs!”
Summing up, Damian says, “No-one can have more pride walking into work each day than myself. We may be only a small company but we are very proud of what we have already achieved and we are not stopping there. We also have PCP Gulf, which is a UAE based company working throughout the Middle East and beyond on diverse sectors ranging from power generation to trading raw materials. Even in these volatile times we are fairly buoyant; looking to expand our premises and maybe even make an acquisition this year”.
For further information please telephone 0118 934 3772 or visit: www.pcpgroup.co.uk
