Bathurst Sand, Soil and Gravel
LiuGong 922LC excavator working in Bathurst
We met up with Gerard Hibberson, Director of Bathurst Sand, Soil & Gravel, Hibberson added a LiuGong excavator 922 to his fleet this year so we wanted to ask him a few questions…
So Gerard, tell me about the company…
“Well I actually bought the business 20 years ago although it has been established for over 50 years, Originally it was just my wife and I and just one full time employee, we’ve grown a lot over the last few years and we now have 13 full time employees. We had to relocate in 2001 as business was going so well, so we moved to a $1.2m purpose built facility which accommodated the retail side of the business more accordingly. We were originally only specialists in sands, soils and landscaping supplies, but merged into the hire & civil earthworks area of the industry as we grew. We now run a fleet of 12 machines including Skidsteers, Backhoes, Excavators and Loaders.”
Are there any projects that your machine has been involved in where it performed particularly well?
“The LiuGong excavator has been a key machine in a lot of local council work. We are operating in a very competitive tendering situation with the council and the LiuGong machine has given us that competitive edge in relation to the cost of the machine being much lower than other competitors in the earthmoving machinery industry, this is allowing us to be more competitive and earn a higher net profit.”
Why did you decide to purchase a LiuGong machine?
The cost fitted in to what we wanted to do with the contracting side of the business and the machines component make up is very similar if not the same to that of other competitors. I have found the LiuGong excavator to be extremely good value for money in comparison to many of our other machines. It’s easily done 400 hours and it’s still reliable, economical to run and just as good as other machines – why wouldn’t I want to purchase this machine?! I’ve found that the LiuGong machine is very easily serviced, and the customer support I have received from Semco (formerly known as Case Equipment sales) has always been first class, Don Cashen, the Semco rep that takes care of our local area has been very good to us.”
Are there any good/bad points you’ve noticed about your LiuGong machine in particular?
“Something I noticed straight away was the accessibility as far as servicing goes; there really are none of those tight spots. I’ve also found it to be very economical on fuel and it has always been comparable to other machines in our fleet. Also, operators have commented on how comfortable the machine is, and as you probably know, when spending a long amount of time in there, comfort is extremely important.”
How would you compare your LiuGong machine to similar machines by other earthmoving machinery company’s?
“Well to be honest, the only real difference I can find is the frame! I’m telling you, this machine is comparable to other machines – it’s just as good, but at a far better price, I have saved thousands through buying the LiuGong excavator instead of a machine off someone else which could have easily cost me double what I paid for the LiuGong. The machine is doing exactly the same as the others, but my net profit margin is better, where’s the sense in buying anything else?”
Would you purchase a machine from LiuGong again in the future?
“Yes definitely, I have found that reliability is excellent so down time was kept to an absolute minimum, which is another important factor in this industry. LiuGong have always been very reliable in the parts & service department, a quality that most other Chinese companies can’t provide. I’ve discovered the true nature of LiuGong; value for money, reliability and serviceability.
Are there any machines you’re looking at buying in the future?
I’m currently looking for a loader with a 3m bucket capacity, whether it’s a LiuGong or not will be decided in the near future, I will be test driving a LiuGong loader very soon due to the success I’ve already had with the excavator.”
