Life can work in funny ways sometimes and you never know what direction you may end up heading in.
This situation is exactly what unfolded for Corey Lee of Hunter Bobcat Hire when he purchased a skid steer some 17 years ago to work on a property he purchased, to build his family home. The original plan was to complete the earthworks and retaining walls around the property, then sell the machine, but before he knew it, he had finished his works and was working on surrounding properties on the weekends whilst still working his 9-5 gig in the mechanical industry. Things have changed a lot since 2003 when Corey first started Hunter Bobcat Hire. Fast forward some 15 years and Corey is still in the cabin operating his own successful excavation business in a new Cat 259D Track Loader and loving life.
Corey’s business of Hunter Bobcat Hire has taken a few different shapes over the years with the early days involving domestic work, but after advertising he picked up sub-division work with Daracon, and this was the start of Corey’s ongoing career in the civil industry. Over the years Hunter Bobcat Hire has worked with different brand machines and multiple operators, but with his wife Kylea by his side and his kids, who are well and truly now teenagers, he has found a really happy balance between working on big civil projects as a sole operator and family life.
Corey gained a pile of experience completing all types of subdivision work including pavement construction and final trim, which is what Corey prefers to focus on these days.
Being a small, privately owned business Corey finds he is mostly working on Civil Projects that typically last anywhere from 3-12 months, with a few bigger projects stretching out over 2.5 years. Kylea runs the office, and Corey completes the operator work. His clientele includes the likes of BMD Constructions, Abi Group (now Lend Lease), Theis (now CPB), Daracon and Keller Civil Engineering (KCE). Corey’s personal experience is that when you do a great job and build good relationships you will often move onto the next job with the Civil companies.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
Cory purchased his new Cat 259D back in July last year and interestingly shared with me, “I have worked from various machines over the last 17 years and as an operator. If you know how to pull the levers and operate the machine well, you can pretty much make any machine work. But what I have experienced over the years is the refinement in the operations, power and comfort in the Cat, particularly in the cab in terms of noise and vibration, which has led to my recent purchase of the 259D being one of the best machines I’ve owned. But to be completely honest it wasn’t the features in the machine that made the difference in purchasing the Cat, it was actually the after sales service that got me across the line.
Having owned nine machines over the years and seven of those being brand new, I’m realistic in understanding that there will always be small problems with any machine, with electrical and hydraulic systems, but the way that Cat and WesTrac has set up their after sales and service department means that after making the initial call with any issues large or small, the boys are out to my site that day to rectify any problems, which is awesome. My calls are always answered, and my issue is made a priority no matter how small. I can’t fault it, and that kind of service is what greatly effects your decisions on what machine to buy next time. There are no requests to drop your machine back into the shop and wasted time and effort in running back and forth.
The service team come to you and get you back up and running that day. As you know break downs can cause you a lot of heartache and stress, which no one wants or needs.”
259D IS A TRUE PERFORMER
Corey is currently working for B&D Constructions, in conjunction with the RMS, working on a road upgrade from Richmond Rd to Windsor Rd building the new Schofields Rd. The area used to be rural with various creeks in the area, with the new road being dual carriage way with several good-sized bridges in the mix. This is part of a bigger section of work that ties into WestConnex at Rouse Hill.
Corey’s main role in the project has been in all elements of the road construction with a focus on areas that the grader can’t get to such as U-turn bays and other tight areas. The footpath area has been prepped as a service access road, which is doubled up as a cycle way, which has meant it is constructed exactly the same as the actual road itself and is able to handle trucks and other heavy vehicles, ranging in width from 4m to 6m in parts. It has essentially involved building another road beside the main road. Its construction is made up of 150mm of base then another 150mm of concrete.
When you think of the amount of services in the ground and exposed access points all along the project, including pits, pillar boxes, several traffic light junctions and massive storm water culverts, it’s been a great project for Corey to sink his teeth into with his new machine.
Corey admits there will be more than a few people surprised to hear he is now operating in the Cat but admits it has been a great move and is looking forward to making 2018 a stella year, with minimal downtime and putting his 259D through its paces on a day in day out basis and working well with the WesTrac team.
[colored_box color=”yellow”]For more information on WesTrac call 1300 88 1064.[/colored_box]