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Digging Deep for Connectivity
From fibre installation and mole ploughing to complex manhole works, Cushendall-based NMG Utilities relies on the Yanmar SV86-7 to keep demanding telecoms projects moving across Northern Ireland. Established 16 years ago by managing director Niall McGuigan, the family-run contractor has grown from a one-man operation into a business of around 25 employees, supporting Openreach-related projects across built-up streets, rural broadband routes and exposed roadside environments. Yanmar Compact Equipment EMEA has been part of that journey for much of the way. Over the years, NMG has owned around 20 Yanmar machines, from legacy B25V and B15V compact excavators to SV conventional-tail and ViO zero-tail models. Today, that relationship continues with the SV86-7, an 8.7-t conventional-tail midi excavator chosen for heavier, more varied telecoms applications. “It’s in the blood,” said Emmett McGuigan, who works in the business alongside his father. “My father has been involved in utility work his whole life, and the business has just grown from there.”
That is especially true in mole ploughing, now a major part of NMG’s workload. To support it, the company developed its own engineered mole plough bucket through research, testing, redesign and close collaboration with a trusted welding partner. If crews hit rock, they can remove the attachment, fit a hammer, break through the obstruction, return to ploughing, then swap to a ditching bucket for finishing and reinstatement. It is exactly the sort of application that suits the SV86-7. The machine gives NMG the hydraulic capability needed for heavier duties, while remaining compact enough for roadside work and tighter environments. The SV86-7 has also proved its worth on more specialist jobs, including what Emmett describes as the first Openreach manhole re-roof completed in Northern Ireland. With multiple services running across the roof, the project called for careful excavation, controlled breaking and precise lifting. “That was an interesting one,” said Emmett McGuigan. “There were a lot of services running over the roof, so we needed the digger for everything around that lift. On jobs like that, where you’re in the cab for long hours, comfort matters too – and that’s one thing Yanmar has always got right.” Behind the machines, Crumlin Plant Sales has played an important role in keeping NMG’s fleet moving. From its Portadown depot, the exclusive authorised Yanmar dealer and distributor supports customers across Northern Ireland and border counties including Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Louth and Leitrim.
The legacy of those machines is still visible today. One of NMG’s original Yanmar B15 compact excavators remains with the business and is now being restored in its original colours as a showpiece; no longer part of the day-to-day fleet, but still part of the family story. Some of NMG’s SV18 machines left the fleet with upwards of 4,000 h on the clock after years of demanding utility projects. “For the kind of work we do, that’s a lot of hours on a machine,” says Emmett McGuigan. “To get through that with no breakdowns and no parts needing replaced says everything about why we’ve stayed with Yanmar.” For NMG, that record says more than any brochure could. The SV86-7 is the latest Yanmar to join a fleet relationship built in the field – and proven over time.
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Much of NMG’s current workload is linked to Openreach’s ultrafast broadband programme, including mole ploughing, utility ducting, chamber and manhole works, blockage clearance, desilting, CCTV inspection, and copper and fibre cable installation. Moving into larger Yanmar machines broadened the company’s capabilities.
For NMG, that responsiveness has made a real impression. Emmett McGuigan recalls a Yanmar ViO25 hydraulic ram failure during critical work in Scotland, and within 15 minutes of calling Crumlin Plant Sales, a replacement was ready for collection on the way to the ferry. 
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