The business from which the Group takes its name was founded in 1972 by Richard Melhuish and Malcolm Hindley-Jones. Having already constructed his own trout lake in Chilworth using a secondhand Hymac 580B, Richard was joined by Malcolm to build a business which would specialize in working in the difficult ground conditions found close to water.
At this time there was a growing interest in building and restoring lakes and ponds for recreational use. The business expanded rapidly and Richard and Malcolm gained a reputation for innovative solutions to many difficult problems. Tragically Malcolm died at the very young age of 31. Richard continued the business on his own for several years until he met James Maclean in 1989 who at that time was operating his own plant hire business.
Richard and James joined forces under the MHJ banner. The business prospered, continuing to enhance its reputation as a problem solver and a decent firm with which to do business.
In 1993 Richard and James learned that British Waterways were about to embark on a major programme of canal restoration. They recognized this as a major opportunity to grow the business and further develop their expertise. In order to compete they felt it necessary to enhance their capability and so joined forces with Simon Mowat of Inland Dredging Limited who operated Watermaster floating dredgers. Together they formed a joint venture company which they named Land & Water Services Limited. It was through this company that they bid for the upcoming work from British Waterways.
From the outset they were successful and profitable, winning the majority of work for which they tendered. The secret of their success was not just in the range of equipment that they could bring to bear but also in the clever disposal routes that they found for the dredged material.
The relationship with British Waterways flourished, Land & Water was appointed National Contractor in 1999 and has consistently developed its plant to meet the differing conditions that exist in the canal network and to maintain.
This success gave the company the confidence to seek work outside the canal environment and so today the specialist equipment and knowledge is put to use in a multitude of differing areas but invariably water is close at hand.
