Hewden Plc, a division of Finning International Inc, has won a sole-supplier contract with Churngold Construction Ltd, worth about GBP1.5 million (USD2.7 million) a year.

The equipment incorporated in the contract covers everything from site offices and pneumatic drills to excavators and telehandlers.

Hewden regional director John Whitby told Forkliftaction.com News it was one of the largest single sourcing contracts the company had received.

"We believe there will be an increasing partnership approach across the supply chain in the construction industry," he said. "This contract will enable us to work more effectively together to reduce overall costs and improve logistics and quality of service."

Meanwhile, Finning International will become the sole distributor of Perkins engines and parts throughout the UK on December 1, 2004. A new specialist business, Diperk (UK) Ltd, will be created, and up to 100 jobs will be created, Finning said in a statement.