Understand the link between poor ironwork installations and pothole creation in our new whitepaper. Potholes - More than a surface issue Get your copy

The hard hat for your ironwork

Armadillo

Armadillo prevents construction site traffic, including tracked vehicles, from damaging your ironwork, ensuring manhole covers and gully grates can start their service life in ‘as new’ condition.

View products

Armadillo manhole cover protector installed on construction site

Multiple solutions

Meet the Armadillo range

A complete range of protector shells, Armadillo is designed to be easily placed over manhole covers and gully grates, providing enhanced protection during the construction phase while preventing the need for premature repairs and replacements, saving time, money and carbon, while removing hassle.

Manhole cover protector shell

Armadillo manhole cover protector shell is a reusable shell that is compatible with both Wrekin Highway and TriStar manhole covers.

Gully grate protector shell

Armadillo gully grate protector shell is easy to install with Wrekin TriStar gully grates and is installed proud of the binding layer.

Install once and protect, not twice and regret

Manhole covers and gully grates without Armadillo protection

It's a common issue that ironwork intended for vehicles with pneumatic tyres can become damaged by heavy plant during a construction project. Working with customers across the country we have developed a cost effective and easy to use solution to this age old problem.

Manhole covers and gully grates are often installed during the early phases of a construction project. During this phase ironwork is exposed to extreme loads from heavy plant including, tracked vehicles, forklift prongs, digger buckets and more.

Cover and gratings installed in these situations were never designed to accommodate these scenarios. This can result in premature failure and additional costs in materials and labour to put them right before handover.

In addition, gully grates can often become clogged with silt and debris which can cause severe issues for the drainage system and the water course. This can result in high cleaning and maintenance costs, residual issues from long-term debris ingress and potentially significant fines.

Armadillo is tough...
Really tough

Armadillo provides protection from loads up to 60 tonnes*. That’s more than enough protection from on-site construction machinery, ensuring that your ironwork will remain intact.

Additionally, Armadillo is designed to be reused on future sites, so you can gain the benefit of this protection again and again. But equally, Armadillo is designed to be sacrificial and can be completely recycled.

What if you could...

Solve these issues and more

Get the right protection at the right time

Manhole covers and gully gratings are one of the first materials installed on a construction site, usually selected to suit the final traffic environment (Group 4 D400, pneumatic tyres). However, during the construction phase, they can be regularly exposed to much greater forces from tracked plant and machinery. This is a common cause of premature failure.

Remove the need to replace damaged ironwork

Jet washing or sucking out gully pots can be costly, but failed ironwork can cost thousands of pounds to completely replace.

However, the costs don’t just stop with the materials and labour. There are many other costs related to the issues of failed ironwork including health, safety, environmental, project delays and disruption to residents.

Save time and reallocate resources

The task of replacing failed ironwork can be time consuming. But the overall time is just one small aspect of it.

The inconvenience can include having to reallocate resources, plus the additional time required to allow for bedding mortar to cure or set before the ironwork can be trafficked.

Armadillo manhole cover protector shell calculator

Find out how much you can save with Armadillo

You can save both time and money when using our Armadillo manhole cover protector shells. You no longer need to rip out and replace your existing ironwork due to premature failure.

Thanks to our handy calculator you can discover an estimation of how much time and money you can save!

Calculate your savings

Armadillo in action

Damaged manhole cover that has been exposed to construction site traffic
Buried and damaged manhole cover without Armadillo protection
Blocked gully grating without Armadillo protection
Typical site machinery during construction and cleaning of road surface with bucket
Armadillo manhole cover protector shell secured in location
Protected manhole cover following removal of Armadillo manhole cover protector shell
Protected gully grating following removal of Armadillo gully grating protector shell
Armadillo manhole cover protector shell installation

What are the benefits of Armadillo?

Armadillo offers benefits for everyone with cost, time and effort savings. In fact, all involved in the process of specifying, procuring, installing and maintaining ironwork and drainage systems will achieve significant benefits thanks to Armadillo.

No jet washing

Save time and money by eliminating the need to jet wash.

No cracked ironwork

Significantly reduces the risk of cracking to ironwork which can lead to rejection by adopting authorities.

No unidentified ironwork

The bold yellow coated shell and grille plates make it easier for operatives to identify and avoid ironwork.

No need for specialist teams

Removes the need for specialist teams and specialist equipment saving time, resources and money.

Armadillo gully grate following successful use

How can Armadillo protector shells help me?

Armadillo manhole cover protector shell on Highway manhole cover

Manhole cover protection

Asset owners

Ironwork is protected from traffic and related defects, including cracking. This ensures ironwork can start its service life as new. Armadillo can also remove the potential for debris in the drainage system.

Groundworkers

Fully compatible with ClickLift, allowing manhole covers to be installed flush with the road surface and raised at a later date saving time and money.

House builders / Developers

Armadillo can prevent debris from entering the chamber and drainage system at the manhole cover.

Environmental, sustainability and Health and Safety benefits due to reduced remedial works, damaged products and the prevention of silt and pollutants in the drainage system.

General public

Armadillo prevents damage from being caused to residents cars and in combination with ClickLift minimises the inconvenience of road closures

Armadillo gully grate protector shell on TriStar gully grating

Gully grate protection

Asset owners

Allows ironwork to be installed proud of the road surface, as is commonly done, yet remain fully protected from side impacts and construction site traffic. Armadillo can also reduce the potential for debris in the drainage system.

Groundworkers

Takes only seconds for an unskilled operative to fit, and is just as quick to remove. The Armadillo Gully Grate Protector shell is designed to be re-used and is easy to transfer around a project as the phases develop.

House builders / Developers

Acts as a coarse debris barrier for gully gratings, ensuring that the drainage system remains in a good working order. Only smooth faces are presented to traffic reducing the risk of damage to site or residents’ vehicles.

General public

Removes the need to close roads to replace damaged ironwork and the associated inconveniences caused to residents.

Products

Stock code	Description		My Wrekin
ARMMSHELL/6060	Armadillo manhole cover protector shell 615mm x 615mm	Quantity	Download
ARMMSHELL/6767	Armadillo manhole cover protector shell 690mm x 690mm	Quantity	Download
ARMGSHELL/4337	Armadillo gully grate protector shell 645mm x 490mm	Quantity	Download

Related Case Studies

Related case study

Bell Contracting finds perfect site solution in Armadillo range

Bell Contracting has historically found its ironwork being damaged or cracked during the construction phase. This problem was costing time, money, and materials to replace, so could not go on.