Caldicot-based Chepstow Plant International (CPI), a strategic mobile plant supplier that operates within the mineral extractives sector, has kick-started the year with a series of multi-million-pound investments to deliver a best-in-class fleet for its clients in 2021.

Committed to delivering the latest fleet to its customers, CPI has signed a landmark deal for the first time with Liebherr GB, for two of its flagship XPower wheel loaders, and also agreed a £2million investment deal with Finning for several assets, including two 775G rigid dump trucks for a long-term project at a major gritstone quarry.

Managing Director John Corcoran, who built the business alongside Eddie Hayward in 1995, says:

“Since CPI’s inception, we’ve continually invested in the best equipment available, and we’re fully committed to this approach moving forwards.  Our front-line contracting fleet is one to be proud of, both in condition and in age, with the majority of our 350-strong fleet under three years old. The announcement of this multi-million-pound investment into our fleet, on top of our existing offering, will help us to both bolster the business and continue providing some of the latest and most environmentally friendly equipment to our customers.”

In an attempt to ease the industry’s ongoing transition of skills from one generation of workers to the next, CPI has also announced that it will place further emphasis on addressing the skills gap and recruiting younger staff this year – by committing further investment into its award-winning training programme.

John explains:

“Over the last 25 years, we’ve seen businesses come and go in the industry – some have either failed to adapt and change, or conversely some have changed too quickly. However, the most important thing driving us forward as a business is that we keep innovation and tradition at a level where CPI never loses its pedigree and appearance that makes it the business that it is today. For us, progression, advancement and innovation are vital – but they can only be achieved with the positive contributions and support of our clients and workforce. CPI is firmly focused on service and safety through partnership, and a key focus area over the next five to ten years is blue chip retention.

“To achieve this, I believe that the standard of equipment and the responsible behaviour of staff and operators, machine and application are all equally critical factors as we push and develop in the future.  With that in mind, in the months and years to come, we will further invest in and build on recruiting millennials and subsequent future generations. This includes a range of apprenticeships and development programmes linked to our award-winning learning and development department to minimise any potential skills gaps in the extractives sector.”

With safety, investment, and staff development all central to the success of the business, CPI currently employs in excess of 200 permanent staff, with 40 based at CPI’s head office in Caldicot and a further 30 working at several quarries around Wales. At peak contracting times, a further 130 operators can be working for the company, in addition to indirectly employing countless others through self-drive contracts with clients.

John concluded:

“It’s important to add that health and safety underpins all that we do at CPI.  We constantly strive for an interdependent safety culture both at CPI and within the wider industry. As we invest in new fleet and staff, we remain committed to pushing and developing safety for every job and application that we operate in to ensure all of our employees and contractors remain safe and to ensure that we can construct a zero-risk environment.”

CPI has 25 core contracting sites around the UK, and up to 20 smaller satellite and campaign sites at its peak each year. This includes partnering with eight core national clients, all of which have a significant presence within the international quarrying and mining communities.