VERSATILE PC88MR-8'S HELP ALLSCOPE SUCCEED IN TRICKY PROJECTS

Sydney-based Allscope Constructions certainly lives up to its name.

Allscope carry out works throughout Australia and are prepared to work on tricky projects other contractors and plant hirers are not able or not prepared to do.

And to help it work efficiently and productively in tight or difficult sites, it has two Komatsu PC88MR-8 excavators one delivered in early February as a result of its experiences with the first of these which Allscope has had for about three years.

Established by Lachlan Matthews and Ryan Jones four years ago, the company has worked in remote areas of Australia, in a wide range of projects, including power stations, wind farms, tourist resorts, architectural housing, indigenous community housing and civic works.

"We normally contract to the bigger companies and contractors, and quite often we get the weird and wonderful things that not many other contractors will do.

"That's things like wind farms, stormwater work, which is quite often a little bit unusual under buildings and structures, upper-end, architect-designed housing where it is a little bit more important that everything is spot-on, and the like.

"We try to go for the more challenging and unusual jobs rather than the more mundane ones, and that is what we want to be known for.

"We've worked in Far North Queensland, remote South Australia, and the Northern Territory, including places you can only get to by plane or boat," he said.

Lachlan and Ryan are builders by trade, working in the construction and civil sectors for the past 12 years. They saw opportunities and a "huge opening there for anyone who is willing to have a go.

"Working in the industry, you realise that good help is hard to find, as they say."

Their team consists of a close-knit crew of 12 operators, carpenters, concreters who move around with him from project to project.

"Because we work away so much, you always have to live together, so you've got to make sure you work with your best mates as well," Lachlan said.

"We go away for months on end, so everyone has to get on well. During work hours, we are the bosses, but after that "

Lachlan said he and Ryan went for the Komatsu PC88s because of the nature of the work the company frequently carries out.

"On the smaller type works, the zero-swing is the way to go for what we need it for.

"We find we can sneak them into places where a five tonner will do the job, and we can get in there a little bit quicker.

"But then we can move as much dirt almost as you can with a 12 tonner due to its operating speed," he said.

"We find them really good to operate; they are good machines, and that's why we bought the new one.

"The best thing about them would be their creature comforts and the fact that they are strong; they don't break.

"We also find the service and support from Komatsu to be pretty good; we've had to call on it with the older machine, and they guys from Komatsu know what they are on about," said Lachlan.

His original decision to purchase Komatsu was based on the time he'd spent in the industry working with all makes of equipment.

"We did have an excavator from another brand originally, but we weren't overly impressed with it, so we went for the Komatsu instead."