Hercules Site Services has struck a deal which will see it acquire 10 new suction excavators, giving it one of the largest fleets in the UK, as demand grows for a new concrete piling technique.

The Cirencester-based listed firm said it will spend £4.5 million on the equipment purchase, with 10 per cent funded by cash and the remainder by asset finance.

Suction excavators are said to suck up large excess quantities of materials or debris and demand for the Hercules' fleet is partly attributed to a newly developed 'zero-trim' piles method, where vacuum excavators are used to suck out excess concrete from a pile while still wet.

Traditionally, liquid concrete is overpoured and then once it dries, construction site teams have to break up and the excess concrete to trim it to size, which can cause health problems, including hand-arm vibration syndrome, hearing loss and silicosis.

The machines are also thought to reduce the risk of utility or service strikes, where accidental contact is made with electrical cables, water or gas pipelines.

The 'Zero-trim' method has been used on the HS2 project, reportedly saving 60,000 working hours on a single site.

Hercules chief executive Brusk Korkmaz said: "Due to their high utilisation rates and a favourable tax regime thanks to the UK government's super-deduction tax incentive for business investments, we wanted to build on the strong momentum in this area of the business and cement Hercules as a leading provider of UK-wide suction excavator services.

"We have also noted the construction industry's aim to reduce utility strikes, which cost the industry hundreds of millions in indirect costs each year. Despite only entering the sector just over a year ago with two suction excavators, Hercules has rapidly gained industry acclaim for delivering much-needed innovation and has subsequently expanded to become one of the market leading suppliers of operated suction excavators in the UK.

"Our strong relationships with existing and new clients have enabled us to identify significant future demand for suction excavator services and we believe this demand is also underpinned by UK government commitments on infrastructure spending and the desire to improve health and wellbeing on site, which our techniques are proven to deliver."