It's the height of summer and you need dust suppression on site by Monday. You call your usual supplier. "Sorry, nothing until next month." You try another. Same answer. And so the story repeats itself.

If you're reading this, there's a decent chance you've already been through that exact loop today. We know because we take those calls. Every single week from about mid-May onwards, we hear from site managers, plant hire desks, and procurement teams who've already tried three or four other suppliers before landing on us.

So what's going on? Why is dust suppression hire so hard to find in summer? And why does Corgin seem to have stock when nobody else does?

Let's get into it.

Why summer demand spikes (and why most suppliers can't keep up)

This isn't complicated. Supply and demand causes a shortage in dust suppression hire units, but the construction industry makes it worse than it needs to be.

Here's what happens: earthworks, demolition, crushing and screening, all peak in dry weather. The ground dries out, dust goes airborne, and every site in the country suddenly needs suppression kit at exactly the same time. May through September is the common window.

Now here's the problem. Most hire companies carry a tiny fleet of dust suppression units (sometimes only a handful) because from October to March, those units sit in a yard doing nothing, which is dead capital. So they don't invest in more - they keep just enough to tick over into winter and hope for the best in summer.

And the result? By the time temperatures hit 20°C and the ground is dry, their three units are already out of stock.

What it actually costs you when there's no stock

This is the bit that gets expensive. And by that, we don't mean the cost of hiring dust suppression, but the cost of not having it. 

Project Delays

You can't proceed with dust-generating works if you haven't got compliant suppression in place, so your programme slips and your client notices.

HSE enforcement

If the HSE turn up and you're running a crusher with no dust control, you're looking at an improvement notice at best, and a prohibition notice if it's bad, which will shut you down on the spot.

Planning condition breaches

Loads of projects have dust management written into their planning consent. But if you breach that, the local authority can halt works. Definitely not a conversation you want to have with your project director!

And then there's the emergency backup

The emergency water bowser with someone on the back of it spraying a hose around costs more than hired dust suppression. And to top it off, it's very ineffective, so the HSE might not accept it as adequate control. But when you're desperate, you'll try anything.

Neighbour complaints make it worse

Once dust is crossing your boundary into someone's garden or conservatory, you're into statutory nuisance territory. The council can get involved and abatement notices may follow. It escalates fast!

And all of this because nobody had a mist cannon available in June.

What types of equipment you actually need (and what to ask for)

If you're phoning around for dust suppression hire, it helps to know what you're asking for, as not all units do the same job.

Mist Cannons / Dust Cannons

Your go-to for wide-area airborne dust. Crushing, demolition, screening - anything that throws dust into the air across a large zone. Something like our MistCannon Ranger, with a 30-40m throw range and its own 2,000L water bowser, is what most sites need. Self-contained, diesel or electric, and towable. Just turn up, plug it in, and switch it on.

For bigger sites, quarries, large-scale demolition, the MistCannon Integral gives you 35-85m throw and up to 10,000L capacity, which is some serious kit for when there's serious dust.

Bowser Units

(We call ours DustLayers) For more targeted suppression. Conveyor drop points, loading bays, stockpile edges. They've got an extendable mast with high-pressure misting nozzles that produce a blanket (or layer - get it?) of fine mist exactly where you need it, so they're not blasting water everywhere.

Fixed vs Mobile

Fixed systems work best where the dust source, and the suppression itself, stays in one place. That might be a fixed conveyor, a crusher, or a yard where units can be wall-mounted. It also includes our installed dust and odour suppression systems: control panels with nozzle lines running along walls and equipment. Because these produce a finer mist and operate in enclosed or sheltered conditions with minimal wind, they're ideal for fixed processes indoors or in covered areas.

Mobile equipment, on the other hand, gives you flexibility. Yes, you can use a mobile unit on a fixed crusher or conveyor, but the real advantage is being able to move it from one piece of equipment to the next, or back to a refill point and out again. If your site layout changes, or you're running multiple dust sources at different times, mobile is what lets you adapt.

Towable and Skid-Mounted

Our towable units are fully self-contained so you can hitch it up, tow it into place, unhitch, and you're set. No crane or Hiab required on site.

Skid-mounted units can be moved around site by forklift, which makes repositioning straightforward, but they're not self-contained: they need to be connected to a water supply on site before they're operational. Worth factoring in when you're planning your setup.

Dust Suppressants / Consumables

And then there's DustFast, our long-term dust suppressant fluid you apply to haul roads and compound surfaces. Hydrophobic, soaks into the fines, weighs them down. One application lasts 6-16 weeks. Non-hazardous to groundwater. For sites where water suppression alone isn't cutting it, or where you're burning through bowser refills every few hours, this stuff changes the economics completely.

When you call us, tell us what's generating the dust, how big the area is, and whether you've got a water supply on site. We'll let you know what you need.

How Corgin stays stocked when everyone else runs out

Right. So why do we have kit when nobody else does?

Corgin is not a general plant and tool hire company. Dust and odour suppression is the majority of what we do, which means we plan for summer all year round.

Our fleet (and it's probably the UK's largest dedicated dust suppression hire fleet) gets maintained, inspected, and green-tagged through winter. While other companies may let their units gather rust in a yard somewhere, ours are being serviced, tested, and prepped for the season.

We invest in fleet size because we know what's coming - we've been doing this long enough to know that once May hits, the phone doesn't stop, and so we build stock for it.

And we deliver nationwide in as little as 2-3 days!

Check availability

If you're here because you've already tried three other suppliers, do what the last person did and give us a call on 📞 01785 229300. Or get in touch here.

We'll tell you what's available, what suits your site, and how fast we can get it to you.

Don't be the fourth person who called us today after three other suppliers said no. Be the first one who calls us next time.