Case Study

T&S Roadworks and Sydney Trucks & Machinery

T&S Roadworks has over the past three-and-a-half decades carved out a reputation in NSW as a leading road maintenance, civil and plant hire contractor, with the family-owned-and-operated business placing a premium on high-quality workmanship and cost-efficient project delivery, underpinned by its “on time, on budget” approach.

Based in Bankstown, T&S Roadworks was established in 1986 by Director Tony Argyropoulos with a goal of making road and civil works safer, more efficient and cost-effective, which in turn has seen T&S build its service offerings around both providing first-rate customer service, and a steadfast commitment to safety and innovation.

As explained by Operations Manager Peter Argyropoulos, T&S primarily “specialises in road maintenance and time-critical concrete pavement replacements”, with it undertaking routine maintenance projects throughout the Sydney road network on a night-to-night basis.

With a team of around twenty staff, T&S draws on a broad range of experience, and has over the years completed well in excess of 400 projects, with its roster of clients including Roads and Maritime Services, DM Roads, Downer Group, Seymour Whyte, Burton Contractors and Ventia Boral Amey JV.

OVER 30 YEARS OF USING KOBELCO EXCAVATORS
T&S roadworks road maintenance services include concrete slab replacements, concrete road furniture, kerb and gutter works, drainage works, concrete footpaths, laybacks and pram ramps, bicycle safe grate installation, ACO Drain installation, concrete cross-stitching, concrete slab jacking, line marking, joint sealing, small repairs and traffic loop installation.

T&S also offers a range of asphalting services, including mill and re-sheet, deep lift, emergency repair works, asphalt ramping and footpath restorations, along with undertaking resource recovery, with it a supplier of bulk recycled materials, and provides plant hire for a range of projects.

Of course, this broad suite of services not only requires well-trained and experienced staff, but also a well-maintained and modern fleet of equipment, with Peter explaining that the T&S fleet encompasses a range of Kobelco excavators.

“Our excavator fleet consists of five Kobelco SK135SR, and we also have three smaller Kobelco excavators, which range between five and eight tonne,” he commented.

In fact, Kobelco excavators have long been a key component of T&S’s operations, as the business has steadily grown its fleet over the years, with Tony adding that T&S had first started using Kobelco machines over 30 years ago.

“We bought our first Kobelco back in 1989, which was a K907,” he commented. “And we’ve been very happy with the machines all these years, so we’ve tended to stick with Kobelcos.”

KOBELCO SK135SR-7: SAFE AND SMOOTH OPERATION
Project Manager Michael Argyropoulos describes the 15 t SK135SR-7 excavator as “very smooth and easy to operate”, pointing in particular to the machine’s range of safety features, including cameras which deliver operators additional perspective about what is happening in its vicinity.

“You’re able to get a bird’s-eye view around the machine,” Michael commented. “So, when working on roads around crews and the public, it just makes it a lot safer and easier for the operator to see what’s going on around them.”

The SK135SR-7 runs a direct-injection diesel Tier IV Final-certified Isuzu engine, providing up to 86 kW of power, with it featuring:

  • Working range – a 4.68m boom and 2.38m arm provides maximum digging depth of 5.52m, maximum digging reach of 8.37m and maximum dumping clearance of 6.75m
  • Power – a 10 per cent increase in engine output, a 17 per cent increase in bucket digging force (105.4 kN) and a 10 per cent reduction in digging cycle time compared to the SK135SR-5, with drawbar pulling force of 141 kN
  • Operator comfort – a sleek and comfortable cabin interior features an air-suspension Grammer seat, and air-conditioning vents optimally positioned to direct air flow toward the operator’s neck and back
  • Easy-to-use controls – switches and dials feature LED backlighting, with a jog dial integrating multiple functions, while pilot control levers are mounted on adjustable consoles, with a newly upgraded hydraulic control system designed to respond to shorter lever strokes than current models
  • Monitor – a 10-inch colour monitor is designed for easy reading and navigation, with the high-resolution display showing the right, left and rear cameras together, while multiple camera modes allow operators to customise their display.

In addition to this, the operator can select one of seven pre-set hydraulic attachment control modes via the monitor and jog dial, while mode settings for other attachments can be added or changed.

The SK135SR-7 also features Kobelco’s iNDr system, designed to deliver optimum low noise and dust reduction, and Geoscan remote monitoring system.

SYDNEY TRUCKS & MACHINERY: ONE-STOP-SHOP SUPPORT
From sales, to servicing and repairs, Sydney Trucks & Machinery (STM) is set up to deliver one-stop-shop support, and is focused on providing a premium level of service in line with individual customer needs.

Pointing to the importance of smoothly functioning operations when undertaking time-critical work, STM Marketing Coordinator Adrian Salvaggio noted that T&S Roadworks has “specific requirements from a machine that is vital to their work”.

“Tony is very pleased with his new dash seven Kobelco machines and the team at STM for all the support over the decades,” Adrian told EEM.

Michael described STM as being “great to deal with”, explaining that the machines needed to be configured and at the ready to tackle the specific scope of applications that T&S regularly undertakes.

“Peter Moore helped us quite a bit in getting the machines set up to the specs that we needed for our sort of work,” he commented. “They were very quick in getting the machines to us.”

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