Harford Attachments

What Harford Attachments does

Harford Attachments Ltd is a privately held, family-owned UK manufacturer of excavator quick hitches and attachments, headquartered in Norwich, England, with a US sales office and warehouse in Clearwater, Florida established in 2021. The company designs and produces three flagship quick hitch systems — Uni-Lok (fully hydraulic, cab-operated, ¾–14 tonne), Pro-Lok (mechanical, ratchet-operated, ¾–14 tonne), and Safelock (dedicated zero-tool, ¾–9 tonne) — together with tilting and 360-degree rotating hitch upgrades, hybrid cross-brand couplers, hydraulic thumbs, and a broad range of standard, Scandinavian-style, and special excavator buckets. Manufacturing is performed in-house at a dedicated Norwich facility using laser cutting linked directly to CAD design, four robotic welders, and rigorous tolerance and weld-quality inspection. UK trademarks are held for Uni-Lok (UK00003033602), Pro-Lok (UK00003089752), and Safelock. The company employs approximately 40 staff and is led by CEO Anna Kidd.

The company serves three primary customer segments: plant hire and equipment rental companies operating mixed-brand fleets, OEM excavator dealers (Yanmar, Takeuchi, Doosan, Hitachi, Bobcat, Volvo, Sany, Case, Kubota, Komatsu, Kato) who specify Harford couplers on new machine builds, and construction/landsccaping contractors. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales via an internal team (phone, email, quote-based pricing), an OEM-dealer network across the UK, Europe, and the US, an eBay storefront, and a US warehouse in Clearwater, Florida. Ancillary revenue comes from spare parts, Harford-certified dealer training, and a nationwide fitting service delivered by Harford-trained engineers. Pricing is uniformly quote-based (Price on Application), with finance options available.

International expansion has been a defining theme of recent years. Exports now represent approximately 50% of total revenue, and US sales grew roughly fivefold over approximately three years following the establishment of the Clearwater office in 2021. In May 2024, Harford received the King's Award for Enterprise for International Trade for outstanding short-term growth in overseas sales, and CEO Anna Kidd met King Charles III at Windsor Castle. The company holds Made in Britain certification and exhibits regularly at Plantworx (UK), ICUEE (Louisville, Kentucky), and ConExpo (US). Harford operates as an independent private business with no disclosed external institutional investment, private equity, or parent ownership.

Name

Harford Attachments

Legal name

Harford Attachments Ltd

Website

https://harfordattachments.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Harford Attachments is a UK-based, family-owned manufacturer of hydraulic and mechanical excavator quick hitch couplers and attachments, serving OEM dealers, plant hire fleets, and contractors across the UK, Europe, and the US via direct sales, OEM channels, and a Florida warehouse.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Equipment Attachments

NAICS

Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing (3331), Material Handling Equipment Manufacturing (33392)

SIC

Construction Machinery & Equip (3531), Construction, Mining & Materials Handling Machinery & Equip (3530)

akta.pro primary industry

Attachments & Work Tools (Buckets, Augers, Hammers) (IMAHAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Excavators (IMAHAAAA), Lifting Attachments & Material Handling Accessories (Fork Attachments, Slings, Rigging) (IMAHABAJ)

Keywords

• Excavator quick hitches
• Hydraulic couplers
• Mechanical quick hitches
• Excavator buckets
• Construction attachments

Headquarters

HQ city

Norwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Excavator Quick Hitches and Couplers: Sale of branded quick hitch systems including Uni-Lok (hydraulic), Pro-Lok (mechanical), and Safelock (dedicated) couplers. Revenue is one-time per unit with optional tilting and rotating upgrades. Price is quote-based (POA).
2. Excavator Buckets and Attachments: Sale of a wide range of standard and special excavator attachments including digging buckets, Scandinavian-style grading buckets, two-way grading buckets, tilting ditching buckets, ripper teeth, trapezoidal V-buckets, brush rakes, land clearance rakes, rock/stone/riddle buckets, reed buckets, trenching/clay hook buckets, trenching/cable buckets, and hydraulic thumbs.
3. Spare Parts and Components: Sale of spare parts for all Harford quick hitches and couplers, with most parts available for immediate dispatch. Warranty claims handled through the returns and claims process. Products covered by 2-year warranty on attachments and non-hydraulic components.
4. Bespoke and Hybrid Quick Hitch Systems: Custom-designed hybrid quick hitches allowing customers to retain existing attachments when switching excavator brands. Available as mechanical or hydraulic variants. Bespoke configurations for specific excavator and attachment brand combinations.
5. Fitting and Training Services: Nationwide fitting service conducted by Harford-trained engineers, and Harford certified training for dealers and fleet engineers on installation and maintenance. Full installation kit and instructions provided with each unit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Harford Attachments designs and manufactures excavator quick hitches and attachments at its Norwich, UK facility for sale to plant hire companies, OEM excavator dealers, and contractors. Core products are three quick hitch families (Uni-Lok hydraulic, Pro-Lok mechanical, Safelock dedicated) for ¾–14 tonne machines, complemented by tilting, rotating, and hybrid coupler variants, hydraulic thumbs, and a wide range of standard and special buckets (digging, ditching, grading, Scandinavian, two-way grading, ripper, trapezoidal, brush rake, riddle, reed, trenching, and cable buckets) plus spare parts and a nationwide fitting and certified-training service.

Product overview

Harford Attachments is a UK-based manufacturer offering a portfolio of excavator attachments and quick hitch systems designed and produced in-house at their Norwich facility. The core product line centers on three distinct quick hitch systems: Uni-Lok (fully hydraulic, cab-operated, ¾-14T), Pro-Lok (mechanical ratchet-operated, ¾-14T), and Safelock (dedicated zero-tool system, ¾-9T). These quick hitches serve as the platform onto which various attachments are swapped. Add-on tilting and 360-degree rotating hitches enhance machine versatility. Attachment offerings include standard buckets (digging, ditching, grading, quick hitch, Scandinavian style, two-way grading), special attachments (ripper tooth, trapezoidal V-bucket, brush rake, land clearance rake, riddle bucket, reed bucket, trenching/cable bucket), and hydraulic thumbs. The Hybrid Hitch enables cross-brand attachment compatibility. All products are compatible with major excavator brands including Takeuchi, Kubota, Volvo, Yanmar, Sany, Case, Hitachi, Bobcat, Komatsu, Kato, Doosan, and Yanmar. Products are backed by a 2-year warranty and are supported by spare parts and troubleshooting resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Uni-Lok: Fully hydraulic double-locking quick hitch system for excavators from ¾ to 14 tonnes. Features cab-operated attachment changes, double locking mechanism, and automatic wear compensation. Registered trademark owned by Harford Attachments Ltd (UK00003033602).
• Pro-Lok
• Safelock
• Tilting Hitch
• Rotating Hitch

Products and services

• Uni-Lok Hydraulic Quick Hitch Fully hydraulic, double-locking wedge quick hitch with integral safety features that enables single-switch, cab-operated attachment changes for ¾ to 14 tonne excavators from all major brands. Built-in automatic wear compensation and visual cab-visible safety indicators reduce downtime and increase productivity on construction and rental sites.
• Pro-Lok Mechanical Quick Hitch Class-leading mechanical, double-locking wedge quick hitch with built-in safety features and automatic wear compensation, operated via a ½-inch drive ratchet with no manual safety pin required. Compatible with ¾ to 14 tonne excavators and described as outlasting spring-type hitches several times over.
• Safelock Dedicated Quick Hitch System Dedicated, zero-tool quick hitch system in which the coupler picks up only its own Safelock-compatible buckets. Features an integral safety handle, visual safety indicator, and simple two-step operation, making it ideal for mixed rental fleets where buckets are interchangeable across brands. Compatible with ¾ to 9 tonne excavators, with manual and hydraulic variants.
• Tilting Hitch

Quantifiable outcome

• Single-switch cab-operated attachment changes reduce machine downtime and eliminate the need for an additional person on site during attachment changes
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Kato Compact ExcavatorscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 October 2019Kato Compact Excavators has a long association with Harford Attachments and exhibited Harford Uni-Lok and Tilt Couplers at the ICUEE Demo Expo in Louisville, Kentucky in October 2019. Harford Technical Manager Mark Thorne attended the event to showcase the products in operation and support Kato's expansion of their attachments offering. The partnership involves Kato specifying Harford couplers as part of their excavator lineup.
• Mervyn Lambert Plant HirecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMervyn Lambert Plant Hire, a newly appointed Takeuchi Dealer and Doosan dealer based in Norfolk, has been a longstanding customer of Harford Attachments. They specify Harford Safelock couplers and buckets for their ¾ to 9T rental machines, and offer Harford Uni-Lok as part of their machine attachment packages. All fitters at Mervyn Lambert have undergone Harford certified training in Uni-Lok installation and maintenance. The two companies are described as Norfolk-based family businesses that have grown and expanded together over the years.
• Ben BurgesscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBen Burgess, a Norwich-based Yanmar Main Dealer and longstanding customer, first selected Harford quick hitches for ¾ to 14T excavators starting with Pro-Lok and latterly Uni-Lok. Both products are used in their own hire fleet and specified for their customers. Ben Burgess were early adopters of the hydraulic Uni-Lok quick hitch in 2015 as Hitachi Dealers, recognising the benefits of cab-operated attachment changes. They continue to specify Harford brand attachments for their hire fleet and sales.
• YanmarminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerYanmar is a major excavator OEM brand whose Main Dealer (Ben Burgess) specifies Harford quick hitches on Yanmar machines. Harford products are compatible with Yanmar excavators, and the relationship is primarily manifested through the dealer network rather than a direct OEM partnership.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/harford_att
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKaOcJ2foZZIxrpoLjDSiuQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/Harford100
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harford-attachments-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/harford_att/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Harford Attachments