Cat utility compactors are seen as a basic but essential equipment with their multi-faceted abilities highly valued. But, Ryan Van Den Broek, sales manager for Hastings Deering says with a competitive market and a variety of players and models, it’s hard to know the best value for money. Roads & infrastructure explains.
With many construction businesses ramping up work following the federal government’s $110 billion investment into roads and infrastructure industries earlier this year, Hastings Deering is aiming to support these small to medium businesses on the road to recovery.
“To try and give the maximum number of features for best value has always been a priority for us,” explains Van Den Broek. “What we try to do is offer the best value for money in order to get these small to medium size companies the maximum amount of efficiency going forward.”
According to Van Den Broek, that’s why offering options such as a zero per cent finance for the machines, or the right asset offer is important.
“The zero per cent finance is just another way we’re trying to make it easier for our customers to get machines working and making money for them quicker. Especially in combination with asset write off, I believe it’ll offer the best priced product,” says Van Den Broek.
Being a Cat utility equipment supplier for the past seven years, Hastings Deering is proud of their relationship.
“I mean, it’s a world renown product that is very good, and not just in the construction industry but across a number of industries far and wide,” says Van Den Broek.
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So, what’s just one of the innovative aspects about the utility roller? According to Van Den Broek, it’s the ability to have both the roll-over folding protection bar and sun canopy at the same time.
While this may not sound ground-breaking, the safety benefits and innovation to have both is something to be appreciated.
“Traditionally, industry standard is to have the roll-over bar fold forward,” explains Van Den Broek. “And it’s hard to have both a canopy and a bar just because of the way it folds. But the Cat utility compactor’s bar folds against the back of the machine so it’s out of the way, allowing for both features.”
According to Van Den Broek, this allows for operators to remain inside the machine across a range of applications, from underlying tree lines to underground car parks, with traditional machines needing to have to re-bolt the bar and canopy when changing sites.
With the roll-over folding bar playing an important role in driver safety from falling objects and the sun canopy functioning both for comfort and health, the ability to attach both simultaneously is just one of the many features the Cat utility has compacted into the small machine.
“We also have the option to put extra counterweights on the outside surface of the drum to increase the weight on the machine, therefore increasing the compacted strength of the machine,” adds Van Den Broek. “And this is very easily put on and off with a forklift and a couple of bolts.”
Most importantly, Van Den Broek stresses, since these machines are considered ‘basic’, their reliability is key.
“We have extended the service intervals; the utility compactors utilise self-contained bearings specifically for the vibration system,” says Van Den Broek. “And our vibration system only needs to be serviced at 3000-hour intervals.”
With zero per cent finance calling to some, a successful client story for Hastings Deering started with a pair of socks.
Queensland-based civil service company Mr Dig Earthmoving and Civil was used to renting equipment before its transition to almost an entire Cat fleet.
Managing director, Michael Steadman shares how he first met Hastings Deering’s sales representative back in 2016, through a pair of socks.
“He actually approached me on site with a pair of Cat socks and after that we ran into each other a couple of times on site,” recounts Steadman. “And from there I was invited to a Cat dig day where I did a test drive on a new machine and like that, I signed up and the rest is history.”
According to Steadman, before they utilised Cat machinery, the business was used to the mentality of “you get what you’re given” with hired machinery. Now with the Hastings Deering, Steadman says vehicle quality and business growth has rapidly expanded.
“We started as a one-man combo which has grown to over an excess of 30 equipment pieces over the last five years,” says Steadman.
And the best aspect of Cat utility compactors?
According to Steadman, less challenges when working in underground covered car parks.
“The Cat utility small rollers and multi-tyre combination rolls have really gotten us out of some trouble,” says Steadman. “They’re a small compact size and are lower to the ground, whereas our competitive equipment just doesn’t fit in where we need it to fit.
“And I keep going back [to them]. We’ve had a couple of minor issues in the past, but they keep getting better every day,” says Steadman. And clearly, he’s not the only one who thinks so.
With demand for the Cat utility compacters increasing rapidly over the last six to eight months, Van Den Broek is enthused with both federal and state government investments into the construction industries. From these investments, companies have gained greater confidence to go out and buy more machines, says Van Den Broek.
“We’ve really seen a big take-up in enquiries for all our general construction equipment,” says Van Den Broek. “And we want to support this and help our clients get their job done with minimal amount of downtime, serving [them in] cost [reduction].”
And what does Van Den Broek see for the future?
“I think we’ll see a big increase in the demand for machinery coming over the next 12 to 18 months,” he says. “We’re looking at more than the first initial purchase point for our customers, and this is why we’ve got this zero per cent offer on, we want to give the best value over life of the machine.”
This article originally appears in the June 2021 edition of our magazine. To read the magazine, click here.