Mager Constructions uses New Holland telehandler
Mager Constructions bought a New Holland telehandler in 2006 for a specific job, but two years later the company is finding that the versatile machine is attracting interest from contractors across their region.
Mager Constructions had never owned a telehandler before Cyclone Larry hit the region in 2006, but the destructive powers of the cyclone all but ruined the Johnstone Shire Hall and a telehandler proved a necessary tool for the repair job, says Mager Construction’s Site Administrator Clint Donnarumma.
The telehandler is in regular use on the Shire Hall repair job and in between it is hired out to other businesses.
“The rebuild job requires us to work on a building that is basically three storeys at the front, but equivalent to 12 storeys at the back,” he says.
With a 16.6m reach and 4,500kg capacity at maximum reach, the LM1745 telehandler from dealership Williams Estate was the ideal choice.
“The telehandler is pretty much full time at that job site, lifting workers up to the external window height, transferring materials into the building and onto the roof, and loading dirt with the bucket attachment we bought with the machine,” Clint Donnarumma says.
Mager Construction also has an auger attachment for the telehandler, which is used for driving screw piles.
“There’s a special head that drives a drill bit like piece of steel into the ground until it reaches a torque specified by the engineer. We can then pour the slab over that embedded piece of steel.
“Without the telehandler and the auger we’d have to dig out any unstable soil and fill with stable soil, but now we can just go straight through the unstable surface until we get to a more stable depth.
“It means we save some time and it also allows us to lay slabs where they probably couldn’t have been put before.”
The LM1745 is an ideal piece of equipment in the Mission Beach area of Queensland where Mager Constructions is based.
In fact, Clint Donnarumma says it is probably the only one in a 50km radius, so it is no wonder other contractors have shown an interest. “About once a month it goes out on wet hire, usually on domestic jobs.”
The telehandler has about 450 hours on it and Clint Donnarumma expects it to be in daily use at least until the Shire Hall job is finished.
28-Jul-2008