Dry hire leader earth gear has built its reputation for excellence by relying on the power, precision, and reliability of Kobelco equipment, using it as a cornerstone of its operations to deliver outstanding results across a range of earthmoving and construction projects.
The story of earth gear begins with Lloyd Bartlett and George Sutton, two men who shared a common vision to create a dry hire business that offered more than just near-new, low-hour machines.
It was about building a team that genuinely cared about delivering reliable equipment and quality support their customers could count on.
Lloyd and George bring business experience that perfectly complements one another, forming the ideal team.
While Lloyd has a proven track record of growing businesses, George has hands-on expertise in the civil construction hire industry. Over the years, they saw first-hand the challenges that contractors and project managers faced when it came to accessing reliable, high-quality machinery on flexible terms.
In conversations over the years, they both saw a gap: while there were plenty of big hire companies, many smaller and mid-sized contractors were looking for a more personalised, responsive service — one where they could get not just the machine, but the right machine, in excellent condition, backed by people who truly understood the work.
In 2020, Lloyd and George decided to turn those conversations into action.
Pooling their expertise, networks, and capital, they established earth gear, based in Queensland.
With Lloyd as Director and George as General Manager, the philosophy from the start was simple: offer a dry hire fleet of late-model, well-maintained machinery, supported by personalised customer service and a deep understanding of client needs. Their motto: real gear. real easy.
Starting with a handful of machines — primarily excavators, loaders, and dozers — earth gear quickly gained a reputation for flexibility, reliability, and straight-up honesty.
The client-focused approach meant that customers trusted the business to deliver what was promised, when it was needed. Word of mouth spread quickly, and the company steadily expanded its fleet and client base, servicing civil, mining, and infrastructure projects across the state.
We spoke to earth gear sales representative Ian McKenzie about the growth of the operation and why it prioritises only top quality equipment in its fleet.
“With many years of experience in providing civil dry hire earthworks solutions for construction projects in Queensland and Northern NSW, we are the go-to choice for all earthworks needs in the region,” he said.
“Since its inception, earth gear has rapidly expanded its operations, establishing key branches in Brisbane (North Lakes) and the Sunshine Coast (Chevallum), so we cover SEQ thoroughly. We also supply and service civil dry hire equipment from Northern NSW to Mackay and far West.
“As our motto goes, we provide real gear, real easy, on time, every time.”
Ian said dry hire wasn’t just about accessing equipment, but also about providing the flexibility, control, and reliability needed to deliver projects successfully.
“Choosing dry hire means you avoid heavy upfront investments that tie up capital,” he said.
“Instead, you can channel your resources where they matter most. Workforce expansion, compliance, and staying agile as project scopes evolve.
“With dry hire, you can scale your fleet up or down effortlessly as timelines and needs shift.
“At earth gear, we stand at the forefront of civil dry hire in Brisbane. With more than 50 years of experience in the industry, we make dry hire work for you, giving you reliable, up-to-date machinery without the burdens of maintenance or servicing responsibilities.”
To back up this principle, it’s essential for the business to offer an extensive and meticulously maintained fleet of machinery for dry hire, including excavators, skid steers, posi-tracks, tipper trucks, and a wide range of specialised attachments.
earth gear’s fleet features newer model machines that dramatically lower the risk of unexpected breakdowns.
“Our fleet is kept young and efficient, with an average machine age of just one year, ensuring you always have access to the best equipment on the market,” Ian said.
“You’ll have access to our newest machines that maximise uptime, flexible rental agreements designed to optimise your project costs, and a local support team that’s just a phone call away whenever you need us.”
The Kobelco connection
The mainstay of the fleet, of course, are the range of excavators. earth gear stocks more than 100 diggers, ranging from one-tonners to 50t models, mainly low-hour units from reputable brands and equipped with features such as tilt hitches, rubber pads, and GPS capabilities, making them suitable for tasks from detailed excavation to bulk demolition.
Most of these are from one brand, Kobelco, with earth gear currently offering more than 40 of the machines in the arsenal.
Ian said the love affair with the brand began not long after the business was formed.
“earth gear began with some second hand gear and the purchase of a wet hire business, but it soon decided to go in the way of Kobelco after experiencing the reliability of the machines, and the backup and after-sales service from dealer BrisVegas,” Ian said.
“We were also impressed with the fuel consumption and usability of the machines for the operators.”
Indeed, comfort within the cab is a big factor.
“The Kobelco cab is user friendly, and I feel personally they are the leader in that area of user comfort,” Ian said.
“The feedback that we got from George and Lloyd’s research in the field was that pretty much everyone loved the brand. There are not too many operators that don’t like operating a Kobelco.”
Ian said the excavators ranged from the medium SKR135 short radius models up to the 50-tonne SK500s.
“We do run some reduced radius machines with blades and without blades,” he said.
“We pretty much go to 23 tonne with and without rubber, and after that it’s all steel tracks. They come with all the goods: tilt hitches, Tier 1 specs, flashing lights, radios, and so on.”
Even as we speak on-site, a Kobelco 30t SK300 is powering away in the background.
“Again, it’s due to Kobelco’s popularity. The customer basically asked for it,” Ian said.
“Even though there is conventional carriage in the counter weight, it still doesn’t carry out too far over the tracks.
“But it comes down to power and digging ability as well, and use of fuel.”
Another success story involved the SK500, used for the Coomera Connector project, a future state-controlled north-south corridor between Loganholme and Nerang, east of the Pacific Motorway.
“The contractors came to us because they knew that between us and BrisVegas, we could supply the necessary equipment, meet the deadline and have the machines fully specced and ready to go for a Tier 1 project,” Ian said.
“The customers only just returned that machine after six months and it’s turned around within a week and gone back on hire again to another job.”
Deal breaker
Ian said the strong relationship with BrisVegas was undoubtedly a major contributor to earth gear’s success.
“It’s so refreshing to go to a business like BrisVegas. From the managing director down to the people in the workshop, the spare parts division, the attachment division: it’s just obviously run with good culture,” he said.
“Everyone’s happy, they’re willing to help, they go above and beyond, and they operate like we do, to ensure customers keep coming back with repeat business.
“Here’s a good example. I rang the managing director last week to swap out a fixed tilt hitch to a tilt one on a SK260.
“One of our customers got the machine off us four months ago and was adamant he didn’t need a tilt hitch, but after operating the machine for that time, he came back to us and said he made a mistake.
“He needed a tilt hitch and could we do it next Friday?
“BrisVegas got back to me within 20 minutes and said it would be no problem. So there’s a good example of their service backup and after-sales support.”
Ian said he also welcomed the technological knowledge of the in-house team.
“For instance, they fully understand the GPS systems that we run with the attachments on the end of the machines, and that’s a big help,” he said.
“The Kobelco brand also sells well in the second hand market.
“The resale value of Kobelcos is high, even up to 3000-4000 hours. They are great machines, and people will always keep coming back for them.”
As further proof of the demand for Kobelcos, earth gear has currently four SK135s on order from BrisVegas, being built to customer specifications.
And more orders are on the cards.
The company recently added its 200th machine to the fleet, and of course, it was a Kobelco: another SK300LC excavator.
“That went straight to work on a large bulking out project that needed multiple machines from earth gear to complete the project on time,” Ian said.
“Our 200th machine is a big milestone for us.
“It’s a sign that what we’re doing is working – providing quality gear that gets the job done, backed by a team that genuinely cares about our customers and their projects.
“earth gear is going from strength to strength as a business.
“We’re looking seriously at opening a third branch that will really secure us in the geographical area we wish to operate in.
“And we’ll do that with BrisVegas and the Kobelcos playing a major part.”
BrisVegas Managing Director Kane Bennett said he already had a strong business relationship with Lloyd and George even before earth gear was formed.
“So it’s only natural that I’ve been the primary point of contact for earth gear at BrisVegas, playing a key role in managing their needs and maintaining a strong, responsive partnership,” he said.
Kane said earth gear strongly supported Kobelco excavators not only for their performance, fuel efficiency and reliability, but also because of the strong dealer relationship it shared with BrisVegas.
“We provide ongoing support with all servicing needs and ensure a reliable supply of parts, minimising downtime of the machines,” he said.
“earth gear highly regards our service and parts department teams. Those members reinforce earth gear’s trust in us and the reliability of Kobelco equipment.
“We see strong potential for the relationship between earth gear and BrisVegas Machinery to continue growing.
“While the connection has primarily been centred around equipment supply and servicing support, there’s a clear alignment in values — both businesses are family-owned, customer-focused, and committed to quality and reliability in the earthmoving sector.”
Learn more about earth gear here.