John Deere equipment is proving to be an essential component in the development of an expansive new suburb in Adelaide.
They say first impressions matter, and that’s certainly been the case with Adelaide-based civil construction company CME Civil when it came to choice of machinery.
CME was started in September 2008 when the founders identified a shortage of contractors targeting medium-sized projects in the South Australian market.
The three business partners – construction director André Cronjé, operations director Malcolm McNeil and commercial director Emma Ebert – still manage the company today, having drawn on their extensive experience in the industry to establish CME as a market leader in delivering small to medium sized projects for a diverse range of clients and fields.
“We were already using John Deere products in a previous business more than 30 years ago, and they worked so well for us we continued using them when we started the CME business,” Malcolm said.
“Our first for CME was a 315SJ backhoe in 2009, followed over the years by a 320D skid steer, a 544K utility wheel loader, a 620GP motor grader, a 524K loader and then an E300LC excavator.”
For CME, the John Deeres are essential components of a 25-strong line-up of plant and machinery that includes excavators, graders, loaders, rollers, backhoes, along with a fleet of trucks to assist the business.
Malcolm said having the best equipment available was essential for CME to offer the comprehensive range of services that is renowned for.
“This includes discreet service packages to total project management and implementation to suit client requirements,” he said.
CME has delivered projects from Maree in the mid-north of South Australia to Roxby Downs and metropolitan areas in and around Adelaide, as well as extensive projects in the Yorke Peninsula and Copper Coast Council area.
“CME delivers projects in the water and sewer infrastructure, rail, gas and civil industries including earthworks and road works,” Malcolm said.
Indeed, the resume is impressive by any means. The projects have included:
- Port Hughes, Moonta and Moonta Bay Sewer and road upgrades
- Wallaroo foreshore and jetty improvements
- Oaklands grade separation rail project
- Torrens Road to Torrens River extension works, including extensive stormwater works and pump installation
- Large diameter steel main pipelines for the BHP Olympic dam works
- Installation of all major services for the New Royal Adelaide Hospital
- Super schools projects across various locations in Adelaide
- Various gas and rail installations
“CME has delivered projects as head contractor, and as a sub-contractor on large civil projects,” Malcolm said.
“As head contractor, we deliver the project from start to finish. In the capacity of sub- contractor, CME is normally on projects at the start of works, as service installations are generally the first activity to take place on large civil projects.
“The quality of equipment we use for these projects cannot be underestimated.”
And Malcolm certainly knows what he is talking about, having had 40 years’ experience managing and supervising civil infrastructure construction projects.
“I have a wide industry knowledge on a various range of industry elements and pride myself in delivering quality in workmanship and not compromising on safety of the project or people.
“I also have a lot of experience in plant and machinery capability and constructability advice, that ensures all CME projects are well managed at both a corporate and site level.”
We caught up with Malcolm at a new major masterplanned community at Riverlea Park, which will include 12,000 homes, recreation facilities, schools, shops and 450 hectares of open space along with 40 hectares of waterways.
The Riverlea project is developed by Walker Corporation, regarded as one of Australia’s most respected urban transformation specialists.
“CME Civil is a key project partner at Riverlea, delivering civil infrastructure and subdivision stages across the project,” Malcolm said.
At the site, the John Deere machines were hard at work doing their bit to install a vacuum sewer system, water, recycled water, concrete footpath and driveway construction, roads and earthworks including asphalt, electrical and NBN infrastructure.
“CME has installed both GPS and UTS systems on the 620GP grader, giving it the ability to trim millimetre perfect,” Malcolm said.
“The loaders are mainly used as site tools for loading trucks, unloading multiple deliveries including pipes and pits, then moving them around site.
“The excavators are used in a variety of works including bulk excavations, deep excavations up to nine metres deep for some pump station installations, service trenches and detailed earthworks formations.”
As a testament to the durability and longevity of John Deere machines, Malcolm said the 544 purchased in 2014 was still working in the fleet to this day, and being productive.
CME deals with RDO Equipment based at Gepps Cross in Adelaide.
“We liaise with Jason Rudd for machinery sales and Shane Baldissera for our product support. Their knowledge and backup is exceptional and are always happy to help. I couldn’t recommend them more highly,” Malcolm said.
“They make our life pretty easy, actually. I can just ring up and there’s always someone there to answer the phone.
“They maintain the gear really well. They have a good telematics system that I can log in to from anywhere in the country that lets me monitor what the graders, excavators, loaders and other equipment are doing, such as how much fuel has been used and how many hours they have done.
“If there’s something wrong with the machines that needs addressing, it just lets me know.
“As well, RDO services and maintains not only the John Deere brand but other multiple pieces of equipment for CME, minimising the need for multiple visits from various other providers and maximising the time spent on site for multiple machines.
“We haven’t really had any downtime issues with the John Deere machines but if we do, Shane looks after everything.
“He always answers the phone, and he’s on to whatever issue we might have straight away. Nine times out of ten, he will rock up here within an hour anyway, just to make sure everything is alright.”
Malcolm said Jason’s knowledge of the machines was impeccable.
“We can just put something on paper and run it through with him, and he explains everything in detail,” he said.
Given the current growth in South Australia in both housing and infrastructure, Malcolm expects CME to continue growing strongly.
“We will continued to depend on the quality of our fleet,” he said.
“We will keep using the John Deere product for their ease of operation, operator comfort, serviceability, production and fuel efficiencies.”
Jason, the Sales Professional for Construction and Forestry Equipment at RDO, said the relationship between him and Malcolm has spanned more than 25 years, as he had known him from his previous roles in the industry prior to CME Civil being formed.
“I think the strength of the connection is proof of how much Malcolm values RDO: the relationships with all the staff at RDO and the backup service provided by RDO team,” he said.
“He also likes the commonality of brand across the John Deere fleet, which means the operators can jump from machine to machine and use common dashboard layouts and controls.”
Jason endorsed Malcolm’s comments about service and maintenance.
“RDO Adelaide looks after CME’s John Deere fleet with five field service vehicles, trained technicians, excellent parts coverage in Gepps Cross Branch and, if needed, overnight parts from the Australia and New Zealand Distribution Centre in Melbourne,” he said.
“RDO Equipment are a global business with 29 branches in Australia and 900 employees, one of the largest John Deere dealers in the world.”