Taking excavation to a new level

Currently around eighty percent of his business is working direct for private residential property owners who have built homes and now looking to finish their construction by adding driveways, embankments, retaining walls and other landscaping forms.

Casper operates a Kobelco SK45SRX-7 excavator which is deployed mostly on forming works for driveways and retaining walls. Casper first noticed the engcon tiltrotator system in 2016 when he was searching on social media. However, it was not until 2019 did he see the technology demonstrated, while he was visiting the Diesel Dirt & Turf Expo in Sydney.

Working in the earthmoving industry for some time, Casper had been operating compact track loaders and excavators, although he admits to particularly enjoying the operation of excavators and loader backhoes.

Doing the homework

“I did a lot of homework by speaking with other operators online about their experiences with the engcon system, both in Australia and in the UK. All agreed that it had made a huge impact on their business, their profitability and the way it opened up new opportunities for providing earthmoving services. Speaking with these people who had been operating the system for some time who had total conviction about the benefits gave me all the confidence I needed to invest in the system”.

His current project involves driveway preparation, trenching for drainage, levelling soil for a lawn installation and building a rock retaining wall. These tasks involve multiple tool changes which would be time-consuming and unproductive without the assistance of his engcon tiltrotator system.

“Every time I'm operating the excavator, I am conscious of the need to try to improve my skills and techniques to make sure I get the most out of the machine in completing the task in hand”, Casper said.

“Whether it’s just knowing not to overfill the bucket and spilling the contents, or better mastering the engcon controls to speed up the process, every day is a learning experience. As soon as I saw the tiltrotator working I said to myself ‘this has got to make life easier!’ I immediately understood how the tiltrotator would improve every aspect of digging and from that moment I knew that I just had to have one.” He said.

First seeing the engcon system on social media, Casper realised it offered a huge advantage for him in the type of work that was the focus of his business.

He didn’t hesitate in making the decision to purchase the tiltrotator and the engcon EC-Oil along with a full set of tools.

A full suite of tools

“l have a Norm Engineering 4-in-1 bucket which is connected with the EC-Oil, as well as the Intermercato five-finger grab and Digga auger drive. Then I have a grading beam, grading bucket, 600 millimetre general purpose bucket and a 300 millimetre cable bucket to complete the package. I'm also planning to acquire a set of pallet forks shortly which will pretty much complete my inventory of tools that I need.”

While Casper is still in the early days of using the tiltrotator, he has been absolutely convinced of its benefit, observing that even in these early days, the system will save him at least one hour per day on tool changes alone.

“In this business, it's all about saving time. I am using many tools and attachments every day and across many differing construction projects. Having the engcon tiltrotator and the EC-Oil system to change attachments safely and without effort adds up to a huge amount of time saving. Conservatively, on jobs such as constructing a retaining wall, the engcon system would be saving me at least one hour per day, compared with previous downtime caused by manual and unproductive tool changes.

Safety is all important

“Just as important, the engcon system makes all my job sites safer to work on, as the engcon system ensures that connections can only be made with absolute safety. Other significant cost savings are made by minimising or removing the need for costly additional labour on sites.

“Precision and time saving is also another bonus by using the system, as it enables me to get up very close to fences, walls, concrete foundations, beams or other infrastructure that need to be avoided while digging,” Casper added.

Even with his limited experience with the engcon system, Casper said there was no way he would ever return to operating the excavator without an engcon tiltrotator, particularly as he has the top and bottom EC-Oil which he said is absolutely amazing in terms of the speed, safety and efficiency in his day-to-day work.

Since working with the engcon system, Casper has realised that the capabilities provided by the tiltrotator and its tools has opened up a whole new potential business. He is now actively seeking work with councils, water boards and other government bodies within the area who have already expressed interest in him carrying out work.

The major reason for their interest is the safety afforded by the machine with the EC-Oil, efficiency and precision and time savings of being able to switch tools safely and quickly.

Casper explained that he was still discovering the benefits of using the system and has realised that under no circumstances could he ever return to the days of using fixed buckets. With just fifty hours experience with the tiltrotator, Casper said he has been amazed at the increase in productivity and the ease of operation that the system has given his business.

Creating opportunities

“We are the first business in the Bairnsdale area that has an engcon tiltrotator system, so we are in an excellent position to promote our services to our local government bodies, shire authorities and other instrumentalities such as the water board to highlight our capability in terms of satisfying their specialised requirements.

“It's all part of a changing industry where safety has become all important and new technology has enabled better precision and efficiency. Having the tiltrotator, EC-Oil and the right tools is exactly what I need to expand the business and open new markets, which will enable us to grow”, Casper added.