We have recently set up a channel on You Tube to bring our customers more information about the company and our products. We have a video which introduces Hill Engineering and tells you a little about our history and where we are now, with a focus on safety.
We also have a video showing the operation of the Auto-Loc-3 Hitch with instructions on how to attach and release an attachment using the Auto-Loc-3 Hitch.

The Board of Directors at P.J. Carey Plant Hire are totally committed to putting safety first and have taken action to deal effectively with the extremely important issue of site safety, particularly in connection with excavator quick couplers.
Following industry wide concern over the safety of semi-automatic couplers, which culminated in the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) securing an agreement with all leading European quick hitch manufacturers not to supply new semi-automatic hitches into the UK market, leading plant hirer P.J. Carey took the decision to replace all their semi-automatic couplers with the fully automatic model from Hill Engineering.
Although the HSE directive did not go so far as to ban the use of semi-automatic couplers, as an industry leader P.J. Carey considered that by adopting a proactive approach, this positive replacement action would safeguard site personnel and actively demonstrate a firm commitment to enhancing safety on all their sites.
Sean O’Donnell, Director of Wembley-based P.J. Carey Plant Hire, said: “As a responsible plant hire company we are completely driven by safety and we were determined to find an effective solution to the semi-automatic quick coupler problem, and therefore made the decision to change all our hydraulic quick couplers to fully automatic models.”
Mr. O’Donnell was given the daunting task of evaluating all the quick coupler products currently available, in order to identify the fully automatic hitch that completely satisfied their safety requirements.
“When faced with this task I focused on identifying a product specification that fully addressed all the specific areas of concern,” said Mr. O’Donnell. “This was a lengthy and detailed process, but one that we considered absolutely essential in order to ensure exactly the right product choice.”
“The product that finally came out on top, and which completely satisfied all the main selection criteria, was the new Hill Auto-Loc 3 fully automatic coupler from Hill Engineering Ltd.”
“In addition to addressing the technical and user issues, Hill Engineering were able to offer a ‘new for old’ coupler exchange at reasonable cost.”
“Hill also provided full hands on product training covering all aspects of the coupler change-over, including replacement of decals, coupler controls and hydraulic circuits. This ensured that the new coupler installations fully complied with the company’s health & safety requirements.”
“All in all I am confident that we have dealt with the serious issue of operator safety in a timely and effective manner and can now concentrate on ensuring we continue to provide our customers with a service that’s second to none,” concluded Mr. ODonnell.

In 2005 Hill Engineering, acknowledging that safety is paramount in the attachments world, recognised a need to develop a fully automatic, user friendly coupler, with built-in devices designed to prevent accidental release of attachments.
The company’s entire R & D budget was immediately directed towards advancing coupler technology and to the establishment of a dedicated coupler testing facility. Following extensive field trials the ‘Safety First’ Auto-Loc range of quick couplers was introduced in 2006. Since then Hill has continued to refine the Auto-Loc and are confident that the very latest Auto-Loc 3 version is the safest and most reliable coupler of its type on the market today.
Ian Hill, Managing Director of Hill Engineering, said: “We have listened to our customers and incorporated improvements to provide a product that is more operator-friendly and even easier to use.”
Hill Engineering want to play their part in encouraging the industry to make the change from semi-automatic to fully automatic couplers and are offering a ‘new for old’ programme, whereby existing semi-automatic couplers can be traded in against a new Auto-Loc 3 coupler at reasonable cost. Also included is the provision of hands on product training for appointed trainer/operators and installation training for service fitters.
Hill Engineering remains fully committed to site safety and for the past two years has been involved, along with other coupler manufacturers, in the working groups established by the HSE to define the proposed changes to the EN474 legislation.
“All quick coupler manufacturers and users should recognise a shared responsibility to ensure an altogether safer working environment for all,” commented Ian Hill.
Originally established in 1994, Hill Engineering moved to new £4.5million, 85,000sq.ft, purpose-designed, state-of-the-art premises in 2006, whilst retaining its original nearby factory as a dedicated research & development facility.
Hill also produce a range of heavy duty excavator buckets, enabling them to provide a top quality hitches and buckets package for its customers throughout the UK and Ireland, as well as internationally across Europe and the USA.
All Hill products are ISO 9001 and CE accredited and as a customer focused organisation with a flexible approach they can tailor equipment to meet individual customer requirements.
Hill Engineering Managing Director, Ian Hill, concluded: “We constantly strive to design and manufacture top quality products to the highest possible world-class standards, with safety always an over-riding consideration.”

Another major plant hire customer endorsing the new Hill Auto-Loc 3 quick coupler is Enfield-based One Call Hire. Managing Director, Anthony Fitzpatrick, said “We have been working with Hill Engineering for several years and all our excavators of 13 tonnes and over purchased over the last three years have been fitted with the Auto-Loc coupler.”
“We were so satisfied with the company and the product that we have now committed to changing our complete fleet to the very latest Auto-Loc 3 fully automatic model and last December took advantage of Hill’s ‘new for old’ programme, placing an order for 200 Auto-Loc 3 couplers for machines in our fleet under 13 tonnes,” added Mr. Fitzpatrick.

Hill Engineering Ltd signed an agreement to supply its unique ‘Safety First’ Auto-Loc excavator quick hitch to Woods Equipment Company, one of the USA’s largest independent manufacturers and suppliers of construction and agricultural equipment attachments.
Woods Equipment Company provides customers in the USA and Canada with a large selection of attachments for excavators, wheel loaders, tractor loader backhoes and skid steer loaders.
Auto-Locs are now being manufactured by Hill and delivered to Woods for sale in the United States. All hitches are produced at Hill Engineering’s factory in Newry, Co. Down, Ireland. Invest Northern Ireland has helped Hill Engineering to ramp up its overseas marketing capability, as well as significantly improve productivity and efficiency at its Newry factory.
The supply deal was signed by Hill Engineering’s founder and Managing Director, Ian Hill, and representatives of Woods Equipment Company at the CONEXPO 2008 event in Las Vegas.
Ian Hill said, “There is no American-made quick hitch with the unique safety features to be found in the Auto-Loc, which is why Woods Equipment Company has decided to take it on board. The sales agreement represents a major breakthrough for us as it gives us inroads into Woods’ vast distribution network of more than 2,000 construction equipment dealers across North America and Canada.”
Woods Equipment Company’s Chairman, President & CEO, Fred Korndorf, said: “The Auto-Loc is fully automatic, with a visible safety mechanism, so there is no need for the operator to leave the excavator cab to remove or insert a safety pin when changing from one attachment to another. This rules out the risk of a safety pin being inserted incorrectly or not being inserted at all, which is why we consider it to be the safest and best engineered quick hitch on the market today.”
Graham Davis, Invest NI’s Director of Regional Economic Development, said: “The high quality and innovative nature of Hill Engineering’s product has differentiated the company from its competitors and is indicative of the high level of technical expertise shown by Northern Ireland engineering manufacturers. Having identified a commercial opportunity, the company has successfully brought its products to market and is performing strongly, adding significant value to the local economy.”
“This deal with Woods Equipment Company is an indicator of the high esteem in which Hill Engineering’s products are held in the market. I wish both companies every success with their working relationship going forward.”
The advanced design of the Auto-Loc allows the operator to visually confirm from within the cab that the bucket or other attachment is securely locked in position, a vitally important and potentially life saving safety feature.
Another advantage is that it is multi centred, allowing the use of a mixed range of machine attachments such as hammers and rippers. It can be used in the face shovel position and a certified lifting eye is fitted as standard.
More than 6,000 Auto-Loc fully automatic quick hitches are now in regular use around the world, with continuing excellent feedback being received from users.
Originally established in 1994, Hill Engineering moved to new £4.5million, 85,000sq.ft, purpose-designed, state-of-the-art premises in 2006, whilst retaining its original nearby factory as a dedicated research & development facility.
Hill also produce a range of heavy duty steel excavator buckets, enabling them to provide a top quality hitches and buckets package for its customers, and the company is currently investing around £2 million in the robotic automation of their entire bucket production line.
All Hill products are ISO 9001 and CE accredited and as a customer focused organisation with a flexible approach they can tailor equipment to meet individual customer requirements.
Hill Engineering Managing Director, Ian Hill, concluded: “We constantly strive to design and manufacture top quality products to the highest possible world-class standards, with safety always an over-riding consideration.”

Leading excavator attachments manufacturer, Hill Engineering Ltd, is experiencing an ever increasing demand for its products in the UK and Ireland, as well as from across Europe and the USA.
Ireland-based Hill Engineering provides top quality, highly reliable, world-leading attachments, including the unique ‘Safety First’ Auto-Loc quick hitch, together with a range of exceptionally durable excavator buckets.
As an extremely forward thinking company, Hill continues to invest heavily in both research & development, as well as in its manufacturing resources.
The ‘Safety First’ Auto-Loc fully automatic excavator quick hitch is a notable example of their product innovation.
With the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) having issued a number of safety alerts and now proposing a ban on the production of semi-automatic hitches, following four fatalities over the past year where attachments have accidentally become detached from such devices (generally attributed to incorrect operator use), some contractors and plant hirers are recommending that only fully automatic versions be allowed on their machines/sites.
The Hill Auto-Loc has been purpose-designed to put operator safety first and is fully compliant with and actually exceeds all existing UK and international safety standards and legislation.
As the Auto-Loc is fully automatic, there is no need for the operator to leave the excavator cab to remove or insert a safety pin when changing from one attachment to another. This completely eliminates the risk of a safety pin being inserted incorrectly or not being inserted at all.
Its unique, advanced design also enables the operator to visually confirm from within the cab that the bucket or other attachment is securely locked in position – a vitally important and potentially life saving safety feature and one which, surprisingly, is not available with most other hitch manufacturers.
The Auto-Loc’s innovative design even goes beyond the current British Standards by ensuring that attachments can only be released when the boom is in a safe working position. And, as an additional safety feature, an optional non removable safety pin can also be fitted to help guarantee complete operator peace of mind.
Originally established in 1994, Hill moved to new £4.5million, 85,000sq.ft, purpose-designed, state-of-the-art premises in 2006, whilst retaining its original nearby factory in Newry, Co.Down, as a dedicated research & development facility.
Hill Engineering also produce a range of heavy duty steel excavator buckets, enabling them to provide a top quality hitches and buckets package for its customers, and the company is currently investing around £2 million in the robotic automation of their entire bucket production line.
Designed for 360° excavators, Heavy Duty buckets are fabricated from heavy duty steel, with drop forged side wear plates, a box beam for extra strength and wear straps fitted as standard. They can have optional fixed pins and/or approved OEM tooth systems incorporated on request.
Severe Duty Rock buckets are also available, with Hardox internal and extended wear plates and bossed heads fitted as standard.
The latest introduction to the Hill buckets range is the unique Ground Force bucket. Its advanced compact design, with the head sunk lower into the bucket, provides a substantial increase in ground force when compared to a standard bucket.
A unique feature is that it can be fitted with or without a quick coupler, thus achieving an even greater ground force.
With a standard bucket and hitch the loss in ground force is 12%, whilst using the Ground Force this can be reduced to 6%. Additionally the Ground Force has removable pins and can therefore be attached direct to the excavator, further increasing ground force by 5%.
Together with improved clearance between the bucket and cab, all these factors put the Ground Force at the forefront in bucket design and performance.
All Hill products are ISO 9001 and CE accredited and as a customer focused organisation with a flexible approach they can tailor equipment to meet individual customer requirements.
Hill Engineering Managing Director, Ian Hill, said: “We constantly strive to design and manufacture top quality products to the highest possible world-class standards, with safety always an over-riding consideration”.
“I consider Auto-Loc to be the safest and best engineered quick hitch on the market today and the Ground Force bucket also provides exceptional superior performance”.

With a number of safety alerts already having been issued by the HSE in connection with quick hitches, and increasing concern in the construction industry, as well as with manufacturers and other organisations, it now appears certain that legislation will be tightened and new directives applied which could result in the banning of certain types of quick hitch.
The HSE’s investigations have centred upon the failure, by the operator, to follow set operating procedures; more specifically the requirement to manually insert a safety pin when using semi-automatic hitches. Tragically, there have been four fatalities in the past year alone due to excavator buckets or other attachments becoming accidentally detached from quick hitch devices.
Ireland based Hill Engineering Ltd are confident that they can offer a potential solution to this problem. The advanced, market-leading design of their fully automatic ‘Safety First’ Auto-Loc quick hitch enables the operator to visually confirm from the excavator cab that the bucket or other attachment is securely locked in position – a vitally important and potentially life saving safety feature.
The Auto-Loc has been purpose-designed to put operator safety first and foremost, and is unique to Hill Engineering. In addition, it not only fully complies with existing safety standards but also meets imminent new European legislation – which, surprisingly, most other hitch manufacturers fall short of.
In particular the Auto-Loc conforms to the British Standard for Earthmoving Machinery Part 5, Paragraph 4.1.9 of BS EN 474.5:1996, which was a key factor in the design brief for the development of the ‘Safety First’ range.
This states that …”it shall be possible to verify the locked position of the attachment bracket and the attachment from the operator’s position, or from the location where the locking control is operated.”
As the Hill Auto-Loc hitch is fully automatic in its operation, there is no requirement for the operator to leave the cab, to remove or insert safety pins, when changing from one attachment to another. This eliminates the risk of the safety pin being inserted incorrectly or not being inserted at all.
The Auto-Loc’s innovative design goes beyond the BS Standard, in that it ensures that attachments can only be released when the boom is in a safe working position. Additional safety features include a check valve fitted to the ram and a certified lifting eye fitted as standard.
Delivering exceptional flexibility, the Auto-Loc offers the option to fit a non removable safety pin to provide an extra safety feature.
For the safety conscious operator all these built-in safety features help guarantee complete peace of mind.
Ian Hill, Managing Director of Hill Engineering said “With the Auto-Loc providing what I consider to be the safest and best engineered quick hitch on the market today, there’s no need for lives to be put at risk.”
Having been enthusiastically received by the industry, more than 6,000 ‘Safety First’ hitches are already now in regular use, with continuing excellent feedback from users.
Hill Engineering also produces a range of excavator buckets fabricated from heavy duty steel and featuring a box beam for increased strength, enabling them to provide a complete hitches and buckets package for their customers. All Hill products are ISO 9001 and CE compliant.
Originally established in 1994, Hill Engineering moved to new £4.5 million, 85,000 sq.ft, purpose-designed, state-of-the-art premises in 2006, whilst retaining its original nearby premises in Newry, Co.Down, as a dedicated research & development facility.
In this highly competitive market, where outsourcing to lower cost labour zones has become the norm, Hill have looked for alternatives so that they can more closely monitor and control the overall quality, performance and safety standards of their products and are currently investing £2 million in the robotic automation of their entire bucket production line.
And, as a forward thinking company, Hill Engineering also continues to invest heavily in research & development in order to provide top quality, highly reliable, world-class attachments.
The company’s products are now sold extensively in the UK and Ireland, as well as across Europe and the USA.
Customer focused and with a flexible approach Hill can tailor their equipment to meet individual customer requirements.
This flexibility, the drive to succeed and the mutual respect of customers has seen Hill Engineering positioned at the forefront of the attachments industry.