Sunward Adds EP Industries to Its UK Dealer Network

The Derbyshire company will cover four counties in the north and east of England with mini, midi and wheeled excavators, loaders and access platforms

Sunward, the Chinese construction equipment manufacturer, has appointed EP Industries as its dealer for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, four counties covering much of the north and east of England. The appointment brings one of the widest Sunward ranges in the UK to the region.

That breadth is the notable part. EP Industries will supply mini, midi, large and wheeled excavators, compact track and skid steer loaders, wheel loaders, scissor lifts and mobile work platforms. Dealers usually start with one product family and add others once volumes justify it; starting with the full catalogue is a different kind of commitment on both sides.

Who the dealer is

EP Industries, founded in 1988 and based in Derbyshire, in the English Midlands, is not a pure sales operation. Its background is in mobile plant across mining, quarrying and heavy industry, and it specialises in rail engineering, upgrades and testing, mobile plant repair and maintenance, machining and welding. The company holds SSIP health and safety approval through PQS, the accreditation scheme UK contractors typically require from suppliers working on their sites.

Its customer base spans groundworks and civils contractors, construction and rail infrastructure providers, utilities, agriculture, plant hire companies, local authorities and waste management operators.

“We are thrilled to add Sunward machinery to our offering. Sunward is a fast growing global manufacturer known for reliable, high quality equipment,” said Eddie Pilsworth, founder of EP Industries.

Why the profile matters

For a manufacturer building a network in a mature market, an engineering-led dealer solves the problem that usually limits Chinese brands in the UK: not the machines, but the confidence that somebody nearby can fix them. A dealer whose day job is rail engineering and plant repair arrives with a workshop and technicians already in place.

The rail specialism is the unusual element. Rail infrastructure work has its own approvals, access constraints and machine requirements, and it is a segment where a plant supplier with existing credentials has a route into fleets that would otherwise be closed.

Building out the network

The appointment follows what Sunward describes as strong early sales across its UK dealer network. It is not the first: in March 2025 the manufacturer appointed Warwick, a UK dealer with 55 years of trading and sites across the north, midlands and south, to distribute its mini excavators.

Taken together, the two appointments show a manufacturer filling in coverage rather than testing the water, in a market where Chinese brands have spent several years moving from price-led sales to established distribution. What the release does not say is how many dealers Sunward now has in the UK, or what share of the country is covered.

Sunward Adds EP Industries to Its UK Dealer Network published on The HeavyQuip Magazine.