A NORTH-EAST construction company has made a £1m investment in new vehicles.

Esh Group’s civil engineering arm, Lumsden & Carroll, has invested over £1m in additional and replacement capital equipment including JCBs, excavators and a major expansion of the heavy goods vehicle (HGV) fleet with regional suppliers.

Nine new Renault Range K high-specification HGVs have been delivered to the firm’s Bowburn headquarters.

The 32 tonne 4-axle tippers, supplied by Thompson Commercials of Billingham, have been equipped to particular standards required by Lumsden & Carroll in support of work with clients such as water Authorities, the Environment Agency and national house-builders.

John Davies, the managing director, of Durham City-based Esh Construction, said: “We’re very pleased to have made this investment through regional businesses; it is an important part of our procurement strategy to support companies within the regions where we are based and do business.

“We’re particularly pleased to have taken delivery of these trucks; we really like the performance of Renaults – they have very high ground clearance, excellent traction on rough site roads and those which we already have in the fleet are showing great durability.”

The deal has expanded Lumsden & Carroll’s HGV fleet to 45.

The vehicles can carry up to 20 tonnes per load, make 10 loads each day and are operated 5 or 6 days a week, averaging up to 50,000 miles.

The investment comes as the construction trade gears up for a period of strong demand over the next five years.

According to a forecast from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), some 3,510 new jobs will be made each year over the period from now until 2019.

The report – the annual survey by the Construction Skills Network (CSN) – suggests the region could see growth of 2.3 per cent over the period.

The CITB said the commercial and industrial sectors are important drivers in the region, and that infrastructure is predicted to be the highest performing sector, with an annual average expansion of 5.8 per cent – one of the highest growth rates in the UK and much higher than the national average of 2.4 per cent.

Several North-East construction firms have launched recruitment drives in recent weeks. Barratt Developments North East wants 600 new workers this year, while Tyneside-based Surgo Construction and Thompsons of Prudhoe also expect to growth staff numbers.