Cheshire Demolition & Excavation Contractors switch to Komatsu

Find out why Cheshire Demolition chose to replace their whole excavator fleet with new machines from Komatsu.

Having been trading for over 30 years, Cheshire Demolition & Excavation Contractors is a thriving traditional business with a keen eye on the future.

They focus on the demolition of older buildings - which in turn feeds the salvage and reclamation side of the business. Additionally, reclaimed concrete and brick is brought back to their six acre site just outside Macclesfield to be crushed to create 6F2 – a recycled aggregate suitable for hard-standings, haul roads, building sub-bases, etc.

Occasionally they also get called upon to demolish or make safe buildings that have been accidentally damaged. This is only possible thanks to their team of highly skilled, experienced operators and the selection of the right equipment.

UK Manufacturing at its Best…
When the time came to renew their fleet of excavators last year, they did what any good business would do and looked around at what was available in the marketplace. Having used Hitachi machines for the previous ten years or more, they decided to approach various other manufacturers including Volvo, Liebherr and Komatsu, to see what was on offer elsewhere. Having looked at all the options, they narrowed their selection down to machines from the similarly priced Hitachi and Komatsu.

However, it was Marubeni-Komatsu Sales Manager, Tim Dilworth who effectively sealed the deal when he arranged for Cheshire Demolition’s Director, Neil Truman and Transport & Plant Manager, Derek Sidebotham to visit the Komatsu UK factory.

“That visit to the Komatsu factory was really what swung it for us” explained Derek, “We got up there and they gave us the full factory tour, which was really impressive. To see where our machines would be built, and to see the care and attention to detail that goes into them was brilliant. But the bit that really impressed me was when we were shown how the top and bottom of the main boom are each made from a single piece of steel. Given the heavy-duty use our machines get put through in demolition that was really reassuring to see. Then when they showed how they make the top hat of the undercarriage from one piece of steel too, I really got the impression Komatsu make these machines to last.”

Machine Demonstrations
Having completed the factory tour, Neil and Derek were then taken round to the on-site demonstration area. “We were expecting to be shown the machines in action but what we got was so much more useful. Neil knows his machines inside out, so he really knows what to look for. He was able to put some of the machines through their paces right there in the demo area - that gave us real confidence in what we were buying” commented Derek.

While Neil was testing the functionality of the machines, Derek got talking to Komatsu’s Komtrax product specialist. Komtrax is a machine monitoring and tracking system that’s exclusive to Komatsu, which uses GPS to track a machine’s location at all times as well as feeding back operational information and machine health status.

Information & Security
Derek continues, “As soon as I saw the Komtrax system, I knew how useful it would be to me. Komtrax is great for keeping tabs on work time vs idle time, whether the machine is being used under heavy load with an attachment, service intervals, fuel usage, contaminants and temperatures etc.

Recently we had one of our excavators working on a really dusty demolition site and Komtrax showed the oil was starting to get hot. Because I could see what was happening, I was able to call the operator and get him to blow the dust out of the oil cooler with an airline. Things like that can save so much down time, unnecessary repairs and expense. The other major benefit of Komtrax is that we can lock the machines down remotely overnight or during weekends. That’s a real benefit and peace of mind for our customers and us when the machines have to be left unattended on sites or in dodgy areas.”

“In short, we can see if our machines are making us money, we can see they are in good health and we can always be sure they are safe. For a business like ours, there’s not much else that really matters. Komtrax has made a big difference to us.”

Since their visit to the Komatsu UK factory, Cheshire Demolition have gone on to replace their whole excavator fleet with new machines from Marubeni-Komatsu. “We really can’t fault the service we’ve had from Tim and the guys at Marubeni-Komatsu” commented Derek, “we were able to spec the machines with dual flow pipework direct from the factory and all the servicing is built in. They’ll even automatically exchange the DPF for us at 4500 hours free of charge!”
Cheshire Demolition’s fleet of twelve excavators ranges from 1.5T up to 36T and is supported by a Komatsu WA200PZ wheel loader at their site.

Associated Businesses

  • Redditch, B98 0RT