A fleet of Kobelcos are hard at work helping transform a region described as a priority growth area in Queensland. Civlease
Progress is moving apace at Southern Redlands, a new bayside precinct in south-east Queensland that is expected to host tens of thousands of new residents.
To prepare for this, the Southern Redland Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant has been established to manage the future needs of the region in a way that improves Logan River water quality while also creating an invaluable wildlife habitat.
The plant will service approximately 13,500 residents as well as schools, sporting and recreation facilities, local business and public amenities.
When Earthmoving Equipment Magazine visited the project recently, the site was awash in a sea of blue, with a fleet of no less than five Kobelco machines busily excavating, rock- breaking, digging, transporting, and carrying out sundry other activities.
The equipment was supplied by Civlease, a privately owned company specialising in advanced plant and equipment (wet and dry) hire for civil construction projects for many different industries across Australia.
Civlease branch manager Ryan McCusker said the business, which started in 2020, was committed to providing rapid customer service and delivery response to any project in the country.
“With more than 150 pieces of equipment and specialised plant for various different activities, we can provide a quick turnaround solution for a range of any hire equipment,” he said.
Pride of place among the fleet are the Kobelcos, which Ryan said was always the first to be offered for any project.
Currently, the range comprises 14 excavator models: the 5.5 tonne SK55SRX-7; the 7.5t SK75SR; the 13.5t SK135SR-7; the 24t SK235SR-2 WB; and the two massive 38-tonners, the SK380SRLC and the SK380XDLC-10.
“We started using Kobelcos right from the start, with the smaller machines in the 5.5t and 7.5t range, and have grown from there,” he said.
“They deliver exceptional lifting and digging performance, making it perfect for large- scale infrastructure projects. They are built for efficiency and reliability, and have great fuel efficiency and the best hydraulic system in the industry for unmatched power.
“And here we are at Redland Bay, with the Kobelco machines efficiently carrying out all the earthworks, and assisting in pit-digging and pipe installation.”
The five models at the job were the two 38t machines, one SK135SR-7, and two SK235SR- 2’s.
“They’ve been particularly suited to this site because there’s been a lot of rock. The different models allow for different jobs to be done, from laying pipes to hard digging. It’s good to have a variety that allows different tasks to be carried out on site,” Ryan said.
“As soon as we took the top off the ground here, it was just complete rock. We have been using massive rock breakers on both the 38t machines and they’ve been breaking for the last three months.
“There have been absolutely no problems. If there’s been any issues, it’s been with the breaker attachment, not with the machine.
“The 38s are just beasts. They’ve just been brilliant. They have so much grunt and a lot of power, and they’re good for exactly what we need.
“It’s probably taken our guys a little bit of time in the last year or two to get used to the bigger machines, but once they’ve got into them, they’re obsessed with them now. And with the comfort features in the cab, they love using them.
“And the crane has been swinging since it got here and it’s a fantastic piece of machinery as well, and it’s been in use every single day.”
Fuel efficiency gets another big tick.
“Absolutely no complaints,” Ryan said. “We’ve actually got a bowser on-site here and it doesn’t need to be used very often. The fuel efficiency is definitely one of the top features compared to others.”
But it’s not just the Kobelco class and quality which have impressed Ryan. Equally as important to him and Civlease has been the connection with Brisvegas Machinery, from whom the company sources the Kobelcos.
The business already had a prior connection with Brisvegas through Civlease’s sister company Silverstrand.
“We’ve now bought or traded up 20 or so Kobelco machines through Marco Marabini and the guys at Brisvegas,” Ryan said.
“Nothing’s a problem for them. Everything can be solved quickly and easily, and they’re very transparent to deal with.
“So it’s a big thing to be able to pick up the phone, call them in anytime and know we’re going to get a resolution on any issues that we might have.
“It’s a massive factor in our relationship, and that’s why we’ve continued to do business with them and we’ll continue to do business with them in the future.”
Marco said it had been a delight to deal with Civlease in the five years he had been involved with the partnership.
“The first Kobelco I quoted to Civlease’s parent company, Silverstrand, was a SK55 to then manager Darren Broderick,” he said.
“Darren put his trust into the Kobelco and was duly impressed. Since then the purchases have increased and they’ve now got a big a fleet of the machines.
“We’ve got a host of Kobelco machines in action at the Redland Bay project, which is always nice to see.
“The SK380SRLC is probably my favorite machine. The good thing with 380s is that it’s a big machine with zero or close-to-zero overhang.
“So you’re going to be able to swing a big machine around in a tight area and not have the overhang, without sacrificing any stability or lift capacity for the operator.”
Marco said all the Kobelcos sent to Civlease were “specced up to the absolute top level”.
“All the heavy excavators supplied have 3D GPS on them with auto grease systems. Every machine is equipped with a tilt hitch, set of buckets, compaction wheel and Tier 1 civil spec,” he said.
“The SK380XDLC-10 is our heavy duty 38-tonner. It is a class leader. We offer this as our standard offering so there is no heavy-duty upgrade, this is it”.
“What that means is you’ll get a machine with bump rails standard, taller grouser plates standard, the idler housings and the travel motor housing are all gusseted and strengthened as standard.
“It’s got double length and double thickness rock guards on the inside of the dipper as standard. It also comes with a front OPG (operator protection guard). It is the most robust machine you can get from the factory as our standard offering from Kobelco.
“The smaller machines supplied to Civlease have QR spec height and slew limiters as well, so there’s not a site these machines cannot go on nor a job they cannot perform.
“So if you’re looking to hire any machinery or need any jobs done, you can be rest assured these Civlease machines will meet any requirement.”
Marco said another key factor for the machines was that the majority of them ran on Tier 3 engines.
“That means there’s no AdBlue and DPF fitted in them,” he said.
“This is critical when machines are working in remote locations, when you have to wait for machines to shut down correctly, or you can get problems like the AdBlue crystallising in the system, or you need to store AdBlue.”
Ultimately, the last word comes from Ryan.
“The quality of the Kobelcos is amazing and we can’t fault them in any way, shape or form. It gives us peace of mind to recommend machines that we know are not going to have any problems or issues,” he said.
