Elvin Group, a concrete pre-mix supplier in the ACT, has recently purchased a WA200PT-6 wheel loader for handling and mixing materials at its Mitchell concrete batch plant.
Elvin Group – Supplier of the Year in the 2008 Master Builders Association/Boral Awards for the levels of quality of product, reliability and punctuality it provided to its customers – took delivery of the new loader in late 2008.
According to general manager Chris Rutledge, the company decided on a Komatsu loader due to its reputation and his past experience with Komatsu.
?I?ve always thought Komatsu machinery was of high quality,? he said. ?Since we?ve taken delivery, we?ve been very pleased with the loader; its performance is excellent.
?In terms of fuel consumption, it?s comparatively good – certainly it?s very economical compared with other loaders we?ve had in the past. Our operators also like it,? said Mr Rutledge.
The loader is working in and around the plant, loading trucks, filling material bins and cleaning out waste pits. Operator Chris Riddle commented that the loader was very easy to operate. ?It?s a delight to drive,? he said. ?The hydrostatic transmission is really good, and it?s a lot quicker around the stockpiles, with a good power response. It?s also a very quiet machine to operate.?
The new loader is fitted with Komatsu?s KOMTRAX remote monitoring system, which the company uses to track the machine?s performance.
?We?ve had two reports so far, and we find it very useful in machine management,? said Chris Rutledge. ?It gives us a good indication of what?s going on inside the machine, and if there are any issues likely to arise that we need to deal with.?
The Elvin Group of companies was born from humble beginnings. The late Tom Elvin and his wife Leonie started it in 1970 as a garden and landscaping business. In the last 30 years, through hard work and perseverance, the Elvin Group has grown to the point where today it operates two fixed concrete mix plants. Vic and Craig Elvin, sons of Tom and Leonie, have been involved in the business since 1990.
The Elvin Group is amongst the most respected, successful independent ready mix concrete suppliers in the Canberra region, and Vic and Craig are ready to take the company to the next level.
Elvin Group?s Mitchell concrete batch plant was built in 1985 and upgraded to a wet batch plant in 1990, with a further upgrade to a dry batch plant in 2008, enabling the plant to dispatch 150 cubic metres per hour, handling 100,000 to 130,000 tonnes of aggregates and a similar volume of sand every year.
All water on the site is recycled – an innovation by Tom Elvin at the time of its construction in 1990, and one of the first concrete batch plants to recycle all its water, according to Mr Riddle.
Elvin Group?s concrete plants supply concrete throughout the ACT and surrounding areas in NSW. It is currently supplying materials to major Canberra building projects, including the 20-storey Acton project in Civic and the Equinox project in Deakin. Both projects will be supplied with 17,000m3 of concrete during construction.
Elvin Group also offers concrete boom pumps for placing concrete and operates a concreter?s warehouse offering various concrete products, stencils, additives, tools, expansion joints and steel mesh.
?At Elvin Group we pride ourselves on delivering old-fashioned service to our valuable customers, and supporting charitable organisations within the Canberra community,? said Mr Rutledge.
Source: Komatsu Australia