Archive, Features

Porter Press Extra: DECC

[SPONSORED CONTENT] The relationship between demolition contractor DECC and Porter Equipment is like that between Hyundai excavators and Furukawa rock-breakers – they both work extremely well

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There are some basic rules and principles one needs to follow to create a long term, sustainable, reliable and successful business model, irrespective of which business you are contemplating.

The Porter Group, which was formed in New Zealand, is the Australian distributor of the Hyundai and Furukawa/FRD equipment ranges – among others – and has proven to be very successful in setting its business model in place.

We recently headed out to speak to demolition and civil contactor DECC about how they’re working closely with Porter.

DECC is based out of Brisbane but has representation in the Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle and Wollongong metropolitan areas and in regional areas of New South Wales and Queensland.

Formed back in 2007, DECC is a privately owned and operated company with management having over 75 years of combined experience in demolition, civil remediation and environmental contracting.

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George Petropoulos keeps a firm hand and keen eye on proceedings

Among its notable projects have been: removing hazardous materials and completely demolishing the Brisbane Law Courts;  demolishing the Sebel Tenancy steel-framed and asbestos-clad warehouse brick annexe building within a live and operational environment; and demolishing two 24m x 30m reinforced-concrete LPG tanks in Port Botany.

We were fortunate to catch up with the boys from DECC on a hospital demolition site in Brisbane to view first-hand the successful run the crew have had with Hyundai excavators and Furukawa rock breakers sold and distributed by Porter Equipment in Brisbane.

DECC partner George Petropoulos says that the Porter/DECC working relationship is as about the best any contractor could wish for, and company is more than happy with its Hyundai-Furukawa pairings and some other Porter-supplied attachments.

Earthmovers & Excavators magazine has previously reviewed a 52-tonne Hyundai R520LC-9 excavator working with a 4.3-tonne Furukawa F70 hydraulic hammer in a Queensland granite quarry, and we can attest that the pairing was hugely successful.

In fact, it’s a partnership that’s well recognised and proven in construction and demolition contractor circles.

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Going, going …

In the F70 review we wrote: “Anyone in the industry – especially those involved in quarrying or mining – knows exactly how unforgiving granite can be on machinery. Some days you may as well just burn a ute-load of $100 bills as the maintenance bills keep piling up.

“There are certain avenues one can take to minimise the repair bill, and one of them is to have the correct equipment from the start.

“Hyundai and Furukawa are a perfect match for this testing and trying rocky, barren hilltop.”

But back to Brisbane, and on the day of our site visit DECC was operating two Hyundai excavators – a 42.6-tonne R430LC-9 and a 51-tonneR 520LC-9 – swingling big Furukawa hammers to bring the hospital tower down to ground level by the cut-off-time of 4.30pm.

As the site slowly but surely became a demolition site a 38.2-tonne Hyundai R380LC-9 and another 430LC-9 excavator fitted with various hydraulic and fixed-arm attachments scurried about converting the demolition materials into recyclable products.

This way of thinking enables both the demolition and environmental industries to benefit as most of the material created from the demolition goes to recycling and minimises landfill options … quickly becoming a thing of the past.

As the demolition progressed to its final conclusion of having the last tower to ground level, George Petropoulos directed the movements of all the machinery with the precision of a drill sergeant.

Every aspect of the demolition was like a finely tuned Swiss watch, paying careful attention to safety, minimising any environmental effect on the area and the public, and showing how efficient and effective an operation like this can be.

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Gone! Another successful demolition

This demolition site is in the centre of Brisbane, with countless views and public walkways overlooking the site, and DECC’s work was being carried out under the watchful eye of thousands of people a day.

Reputation was always on show here, and George was very particular in how his demolition was carried out as he directed all the men and machines to exact positions and ensured safety and timing were perfect.

One excavator mounted on a very high mound of previously stockpiled demolition material supported the back of the tower while others gnawed away at the last of the concrete and steel reinforced beams and footings.

The anticipation of the tower dropping to the ground was unbelievable as we witnessed it gradually tilting to one side, but it eventually collapsed safely to the ground in what seemed mere seconds.

The enormous crashing sound of the building hitting the ground, the dust, the silence and then the cheers from all on the site and the public viewing areas was a joy to hear and see … another safe and efficient demolition performed, and George was a happy man.

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A Porter-supplied Hyundai R380LC-9 excavator with demolition grapple fitted

As mentioned above, George has nothing but praise for DECC’s relationship with Porters.

“It is no use just looking for the cheapest item of plant or machinery in our game,” he says. “It’s a tough industry, with deadlines to be met in every aspect of the projects we undertake and reputations to be kept intact so, we can’t afford to have major breakdowns or delays in procuring spare parts and service back-up from the distributors.

“Porters tick all our boxes and we have had, and continue to have, a great run with the Hyundai and Furukawa products,” George adds.

“The relationship goes a tad further – developing trust and mateship, being able to confide in each other and working towards a better outcome for both contractor and distributor play a huge part in the success of our business.

“We have on order a rather large number of Hyundai excavators of various sizes,” he says. “They had to be placed on order as the new stock was unavailable at the time, but Porters came immediately to the party and loaned us several machines to assist us by supplying some trade-in machines to get us through the period from order to delivery.”

A win-win for both parties … Porters kept the sales and DECC kept abreast of its ever-increasing workload.

 

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