Gippsland-based civil contractor Brad Scott has recently taken delivery of his third Komatsu PC55 excavator, because he finds he can't beat the backup, the resale values and the reliability of his Komatsu machines.
Gippsland-based civil contractor Brad Scott has recently taken delivery of his third Komatsu PC55 excavator, because he finds he can't beat the backup, the resale values and the reliability of his Komatsu machines.
His new PC55MR-3 replaces a PC55MR-3 he'd had for four years, and which had logged around 1500 hours, and which itself had replaced a PC50MR-2.
In addition to his 5 tonner, Brad also runs a PC18MR-3 and a PC138US-8 excavator, plus a CK25-1 crawler skid steer all of which he operates himself.
His company, Brad Scott Excavations, carries out civil and general contracting throughout Victoria, including foundation and concreting works on building sites.
"I've had a really good run out of all my Komatsu machines, and particularly the PC55s; they haven't let me down once," said Brad.
"I really love this machine; it's basic, it's simple, nothing ever goes wrong, so I don't have to touch it and it's got heaps of room in the cab."
To maximise his machines' versatility and attractiveness to clients, Brad offers a large number of attachments.
"My PC55MR-3 has about 18 attachments I can use with it: tilt hitch buckets, augers, four-in-one buckets, log grabs a whole range."
He also prides himself on really looking after his equipment.
"When I sold my last machine, it was still in mint condition; everyone thought it was the new machine, it was in that good a nick," he said.
"Keeping my machines in top condition is my advertising; I keep them clean, I wash and service them each time they come off a job, there's no scratches on them.
"In fact, when I bought this new one, a lot of people didn't even realise I had a new machine, because I look after them all so much," he said.
"And I never had to put a spanner on it, which was great. I've had a great run out of my Komatsu machines, which is the main reason I went back for another one."
Brad also finds it useful being able to work with his local Komatsu branch via the KOMTRAX remote monitoring system.
"I find it very handy," he said.
"I can ring the branch anytime and see if anything is happening, plus they can see you've done the servicing and track it all to see how it's going.
"That means if I have an issue, they can see how many hours I've done that month, and we can look at what may be causing that.
"That's a very useful service to be able to have," Brad said.