Two family-run firms have struck a landmark deal aimed at cutting accidents and saving lives on the UK’s roads.
Welsh trailer giant Ifor Williams Trailers (IWT) has teamed up with the inventors of DigaDoc, an award-winning system designed to make moving heavy plant far safer.
The deal gives IWT, which has five manufacturing sites in Denbighshire and Deeside, an exclusive licence to build and supply trailers fitted with the revolutionary DigaDoc safety technology.
DigaDoc was created by Cheshire business man Martin Smithson, whose Sandbach-based plant hire company Scott’s developed the life-saving system.
He and his son, Josh, patented the design, with the pair going on to scoop a prestigious UK Energy Innovation Award.
Since then DigaDoc has revolutionised the way heavy plant is moved around Britain, doing away with the old practice of strapping machines down and relying solely on human vigilance.
Rather than drivers hand-tying industrial straps, the system uses specially engineered ultra-secure metal “cowels” to clamp equipment firmly in place on trailers.
The technology also automatically positions the plant machinery, spreading the weight evenly across the trailer bed, boosting stability and safety.
The system is already trusted by major utility firm and large-scale contractors – and now IWT wants to make it the go-to choice for medium-sized and smaller businesses too.
As part of the ground-breaking deal IWT have exclusive rights to manufacture the Digadoc which will make it the only officially licensed supplier of the system.
In return the company has pledged to actively promote DigaDoc and bring its unique safety benefits to an even wider audience .
IWT Head of Commercial Dave Robinson praised DigaDoc as one of the most important road safety features in the history of industry.
It was IWT’s desire to increase the system’s accessibility and further raise awareness of its enormous safety benefits.
He said: “Martin had a real light-bulb moment when he came up with this idea. It was specifically developed to tackle the number of tip-overs, other incidents and ‘near misses’ in the field of mini excavator transportation. I truly believe it has already prevented numerous serious injuries and saved lives.
“That’s why at IWT we are 100 percent committed to this deal. We feel privileged to be able to take this amazing innovation forward and open up access to an even wider customer base.”
The two firms have worked together before, and IWT already supplies DigaDoc trailers but the exclusive deal will take their relationship to another level.
They have similar back stories and a shared business ethos, both being family owned and having forged strong links with their local communities.
Director Josh Smithson said this latest deal was pivotal for the future of the DigaDoc success story.
He said: “Until now our focus has been mainly on the big players like large gas, water and other utility companies who have immediately seen the advantages and been quick to invest in this apparatus.
“But there are hundreds of medium and smaller sized companies out there, even individuals like start-up landscape gardeners and builders, for whom DigaDoc can be just as beneficial.
“We are on a mission to spread the message to those as yet untapped areas, to demonstrate that no matter what size of business you are, this is a sound, worthwhile investment, and most importantly one which could save your life or that of an employee.”
Crucial to Martin Smithson’s thinking when he created DigaDoc was to allow safer loading and a more reliable method of securing plant equipment as it is towed between sites.
The design he eventually came up with reduces risk and simplifies loading by use of an automatic weight distribution mechanism which ensures stable towing without the need for operator guesswork. It firmly secures the machine on the road without the need for straps.
Dave Robinson at IWT says it is “perfectly compatible” with the incredibly popular Ifor Williams GH model plant trailer range, offering a smart, straightforward approach to loading and securing compact tracked machinery, even for operators with limited experience.
He said: “It makes loading safer, faster and more consistent. DigaDoc is compatible with our GH94 and GH1054 trailers and is suitable for machinery up to 2.7 tonnes.”
IWT will also supply a range of accessories to complement the DigaDoc system and further enhance its usability.
According to Dave, the exclusivity of the licence to supply was a crucial part of the deal in order to enable IWT to proactively market the system to the loyal customer base it has built up over the last 65 years.
He said: “IWT has consistently high manufacturing standards so it is key to us to retain that element of control when we put our name behind a product. That is why customers trust us and return to us time and again.”
A dedicated series of promotional campaigns has already begun aimed at turning all eyes onto the IWT/DigaDoc combination.
Dave said: “Over coming weeks we will have a DigaDoc trailer at every one of our dealer outlets in the UK, demonstrating its effectiveness and encouraging customers to go along and see it for themselves.
“We’ll also be pushing it via our extensive network or worldwide distributors stretching from Switzerland, to UAE and Australia. And we will be taking it to the Executive Hire Show at CBS Arena in Coventry on February 11-12.”
