The Cat® PC306 With Water cold planer has been a real cost saver and productivity booster for NSW contractor Whitleah Asphalt.
Matt Whitleah’s success story is one of perseverance, dedication, and commitment to quality.
The owner of asphalt paving and civil construction company Whitleah Asphalt only had $1000 to his name when he took the leap of faith to start up the business in December 2021.
Today, barely two and a half years on, Whitleah has become one of the biggest privately owned asphalt companies on the central coast and Hunter region of NSW.
“I was working in the asphalt industry since I was 14, and have 19 years’ experience,” Matt said.
“When I began the company, I had some firm aims. I wanted to do better quality work, have a good work/life balance, and wanted to ensure my employees enjoyed a healthy work culture.
“Undoubtedly, it was a daunting experience and very scary. But we had a clear strategy: we launched a marketing campaign and made sure every job we did was of the best quality, and we didn’t muck around.”
That no-compromise approach on quality has paid handsome dividends, with the company often called on for a wide range of projects, including asphalt resurfacing, road construction and maintenance, footpaths, profiling, in-situ stabilisation, driveways, carparks, and sports courts.
As a local-government procurement-approved contractor, the company’s clientele includes government and local councils and members
of the commercial and residential sectors, with some of Whitleah’s most notable projects including regional car park upgrades for up to 12 TAFE colleges across the state, a $2 million car park refurbishment for the Vicinity group, and three tonnes worth of pothole repairs for Hertz.
“Back in 2021, I started with one machine,” Matt said. “We’ve grown to now have seven machines including trucks and pavers, and 12 full-time employees.”
Matt’s unswerving adherence to the highest of standards is clearly also reflected in his choice of preferred equipment manufacturer: Caterpillar®.
The current fleet includes three Cat® machines: an AP300 Paver, a CB2.7 Utility Compactor, and a 279D3 Compact Track Loader.
And one particular attachment is proving to be a big benefit in helping the company’s roadworks: a Cat PC306 With Water Cold Planer.
Waterworks
Designed for small paving jobs in residential and commercial applications, the PC306 is primarily used to restore asphalt and concrete surfaces. It’s ideal for milling imperfections prior to resurfacing, correcting deteriorated pavement, removing traffic-lane stripes and jobs where the use of dedicated planers is limited.
“A self-levelling design automatically levels the attachment when it’s placed on the ground, giving consistent depth control without operator adjustments and offering excellent spoil retention, while two wear-resistant skid plates remain parallel to the ground for optimum stability,” Matt said.
“A hydraulic side shift permits planing close to curbs, walls and other obstructions, while a hydraulically controlled, independent left/right depth control allows maximum drum depths to be adjusted independently on each skid.”
Gauges are easily viewable from the cab. A Max Pro pressure gauge provides operator feedback to adjust speed for maximum productivity in changing material loads, and a gauge – also visible from the cab – displays planer performance in real-time conditions.
A direct-drive system in the PC306 features a hydraulic radial-piston motor to ensure maximum cutting rate and drum torque for optimum production performance and efficiency, while a float setting enables planers to follow the contour of the surface.
Spring tilt and hydraulic tilt enable planers to oscillate for angled cuts, and all-purpose conical bits are standard. Optional concrete bits, heavy-duty concrete bits, and heavy-duty asphalt bits are also available, while tools to change out the bits are included.
Caterpillar’s fast-cut asphalt drums require less power for cutting due to increased spacing between cutting lines. The drums improve productivity in asphalt applications, and are now standard on all models, while multi- purpose and optional-width drums are also available.
Serrated steps allow for safe and easy access in and out of the cab, and a new centre step enables even easier access and shorter step lengths for the operator.
Of course, water is essential to cool the cutting tools during the milling process as well as dust suppression. A coupler frame- mounted water tank with a 160-litre (42-gallon) capacity and a tank-level sight gauge can be combined with cab-mounted water tank for additional capacity and run time – a sprinkler kit is included if the cold planer is ordered with a water tank installed.
Matt really likes the water tank being built into the cold planer rather than the roof. It saves both time and effort, and means less hazardous lifting and climbing for staff.
“It eliminates a lot of risk when filling the water tank, which needs to be done a couple of times a day,” he said.
“We use the skid steer with this attachment every day of the week. It speeds up our asphalt work and keeps the boys happy.”
Another feature of the PC306 planer is Cat SMART Creep mode.
“It lets inexperienced operators cut professional lines and makes hiring a lot easier. The guys don’t have to be top-notch, gun operators to be able to cut like a pro,” he said.
Controlling the creep
WesTrac NSW Attachment Product Specialist Nina Zeidan said creep control had been a regular feature of Cat Cold Planers for many years.
“Creep speed control lets operators match the travel speed of the machine to the optimal performance level of the attachment,” she said.
“It allows the driver to set a speed for the machine to operate an attachment such as a cold planer, brushcutter, trencher, etc, smoothly without stops and starts or strain on the user to control the joystick position if the ground is uneven.
“This enables the tool to complete the pass without stalling or creating divots – an important requirement for cold planing or cutting trenches.
“It also helps when sweeping carparks or raking driveways with a power box rake, for example; just being required to steer while creep control is keeping the speed steady means a smooth surface in one pass while cutting down on fatigue for the operator.
“In essence, creep control makes cold planing very simple and very smooth. It prevents the cutting out of the drum, which causes ridges.
“Creep control has been a fantastic tool, but Caterpillar has taken it to the next level with SMART Creep, with valving and software which basically monitors the pressure of the drum.
“It’s a dynamic drive control system that works in conjunction with the initial creep speed setting. SMART Creep senses load on the attachment being operated and can automatically adjust drive command to keep the attachment running at the most productive speed.
“This helps reduce the likelihood of stalling the attachment. If the attachment does stall, the auto reverse portion of SMART Creep can reverse the machine travel to clear the stall, then move the machine forward to continue cutting.”
Cat Cold Planers can be used on the basic standard flow Cat 216 Skid Steers all the way up to the 299 XE models, as well as the 906– 908 Compact Wheel Loaders. Caterpillar also has cold planers to suit 305 to 310 Excavators or Backhoes.
“There is a cold planer model to suit each machine and application,” Nina said.
The most common machine models used in the asphalt industry are the Cat 246, 262 and 272 HF XPS Skid Steers or the 279, 289 and 299 HF XPS/XE Compact Track Loaders. The most popular cold planers were the Cat PC305 (450mm wide) and PC306 (600mm wide) models.
To top it all off, Cat Cold Planers are covered by a two-year parts and labour warranty, and are serviced by WesTrac workshops and field services throughout NSW.
WesTrac also has a huge range of parts on hand, as well being able to source from genuine Cat part distribution warehouses nationally and internationally.
But why is it cold?
The origins of the term are murky, but general consensus is that initial planing methods used heat to soften the asphalt and spade teeth before cutting the concrete and asphalt, while the current more efficient technique uses conical teeth to cut concrete or asphalt without having to heat it (hence cold).
For more information on the Cat PC306 With Water Cold Planer and 279D3 Compact Track Loader, contact a Cat dealer or visit cat.com.