Oxfam opts for JCB to help with Haiti rebuilding

RELIEF agency Oxfam has boosted Staffordshire excavator manufacturer JCB by purchasing a small fleet of its iconic machines to help out in the rebuilding of earthquake-devastated Haiti.

The charity has bought two JCB excavators, made at JCB Heavy Products, Uttoxeter and a wheeled loading shovel, made at JCB Earthmovers, Cheadle.

The machines have been donated to the not-for-profit organisation Disaster Waste Recovery (DWR) which is clearing damaged houses and recycling the resulting debris in one of the poorest areas of the Caribbean island’s capital Port Au Prince.

The JCB JS220XD and JS145W excavators and JCB 426ZX machines are working in partnership demolishing damaged properties and loading a crusher and screening plant. The resulting debris is then recycled and used in the reconstruction of buildings, roads and pavements.

The order – which was won in the face of competition from other major global manufacturers – also includes a JCB HM1560Q Hammermaster breaker and a JCB MP200U multi-processor attachment for use on the JS220XD and a JCB HM860Q Hammermaster breaker for the JS145W. JCB also provided seven days’ on-site operator training in Haiti.

Oxfam’s Logistic Co-ordinator in Haiti Hubert Ballaman said: “The location where the JCB machines are working is in the town and often in-between houses and the decision on which houses are demolished is often down to local residents who request their plot to be cleared.

“This particular part of the project should see 162,000 tonnes of rubble cleared, allowing 16,200 people to be re-housed in 4,500 properties.

“The team is working in very difficult conditions; it’s busy, hot and dusty and controlling lots of curious passers-by can be an issue for the operators and residents. All the operators are very pleased with the JCB machines and they particularly appreciate their ease and precision of operation and working in an air-conditioned cab with a comfortable seat.”

The demolition and clear-up operation follows the earthquake in January last year which measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale and killed around 230,000 people. More than a year on, 800,000 people are still living in camps.

Immediately after the earthquake, JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford donated two JCB 3CX backhoe loaders worth £93,000 to help with the relief effort. They are currently working for not-profit organisation Food for the Poor and have so far been deployed to clear rubble, excavate sewage pits, dig out foundations and reconstruct walls and build schools and sanitation facilities.