SINCE MOVING BACK INTO BUYING KOMATSU EQUIPMENT AFTER A BREAK OF SEVERAL YEARS, LEADING TASMANIAN CONTRACTOR SHAW CONTRACTING IS FINDING THEY ARE GIVING “FANTASTIC” FUEL CONSUMPTION.
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The company has had a PC400- 7 excavator for the past four years, and since mid 2011 has purchased a further seven items of Komatsu equipment: a D85A-21 dozer, along with six excavators, two PC130-8's (with blade), a PC138US-8, a PC228USLC-8, a PC270LC-8, and a PC450-8.
It is currently looking at buying a Komatsu crusher, according to asset manager Cranston Shaw. The company is one of the state's oldest civil construction companies, having been started by Jim Shaw in Whitemore (where
it is still based) in 1935. It remains family owned, with Jim's son Alwyn, the majority owner and principal director, and his son Cranston as asset manager.
Today Shaw Contracting has a workforce of over 200 highly skilled and motivated people employed either directly or as subcontractors, with operations located throughout the north and north west of the state.
Cranston said that Shaw initially opted to return to buying Komatsu because other suppliers could not supply the machines required in the time frame needed. "Other factors included the reliability and comfort of the machines as well as fuel consumption which has proven to be as it was stated at the time of purchase," he said.
"In terms of production, ease of operation and fuel consumption, the Komatsu machines have been great; they have been well accepted by our operators and fuel consumption is fantastic"
Cranston said Komatsu's KOMTRAX remote monitoring system has also been very useful.
"It's a good system, which we use to monitor machine usage, how hard the machine is being worked and fuel consumption. "It also shows who your better operators are," he said. "And in financing these machines, we have used Komatsu Australia Corporate Finance (KACF) and we find they are competitive."