Loadex Hire, which has owned more than 100 Kobelco earthmovers over the past 20 years, has added two new 48-tonne Kobelco SK500LC-9 excavators to its fleet, citing fuel efficiency as the driving factor behind the purchase.
The company, which has branches in Adelaide and Perth, has made the two machines available to Western Australian customers as a step up from the Kobelco SK480LC.
“The SK480LC was a well-received model but the new ones are even better on fuel consumption, power and safety with rear-view cameras,” Loadex Hire manager Clayton Van Geest says.
That fuel efficiency, he says, could deliver big savings to customers.
“With these new excavators you get the same or better production as the older model but you’re using a third less fuel,” Van Geest says. “That’s a lot when you’re talking about $200-$300 in fuel per day.
“As fuel gets more expensive, fuel economy is now a significant factor in contracting costs.”
Features of the Kobelco SK500LC-9 excavator include a full-sized, air-conditioned ROPS/FOPS cabin, lift safety valves on the boom and arm, steel tracks and bi-directional attachment/breaker plumbing.
Van Geest says Kobelco is a popular choice within the hire industry, particularly for clients in the civil construction, local government, roads and mining industries.
“Reliability in the hire game is a big factor, as equipment really gets put through its paces,” he says. “Kobelcos are very robust and we’ve had very little trouble with them over the years.
“They’re strong and easy to use and Kobelco is a market leader in fuel economy and hydraulics, which shut down automatically when the machine is in idle.”
Besides the Kobelco excavators, Loadex Hire offers Volvo and Komatsu graders, compaction rollers, John Deere tracked loaders and Komatsu wheel loaders.
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