“Those machines weren’t very old and were still under the Cat warranty, so the Hastings Deering Sales Representative came out and introduced himself.
“He said he had sold them to the guy who I bought them off and just wanted to show his face and touch base.
“He’s a good, genuine bloke who took the time out of his day to meet me and make sure I was happy with the machines that I had purchased, even though I hadn’t purchased them from him.
“He kept in touch throughout the life of those machines and the relationship we’ve had is good – you stay loyal to them, they stay loyal to you and look after you on certain things.
“I can’t fault them at all and anywhere you go, whether it’s servicing or parts, they’re always there to help. It doesn’t matter if they have seen your face before or not.”
Dealing with an organisation filled with friendly and helpful people is, naturally, going to make life much easier and more enjoyable for a contractor such as SJ Earthworks.
A natural willingness to help is only part of the equation though because it needs to be backed up by a tangible ability to provide whatever is needed in the situation.
Hastings Deering has always been extremely reliable with having quick access to needed parts, Scott says, and the dealer has taken its commitment further by announcing a ‘your hose in two hours or it’s free’ initiative in recent months.
For a “one-man band” like SJ Earthworks, without several identical excavators to alternate between, quick access to parts to minimise downtime when something does go wrong is imperative.
“You can order parts any time of the day - Saturday, Sunday, midnight – and you can go in there within the next couple of hours and pick your order up to keep the machine going,” Scott says.
“It’s happened a couple of times where I’ve blown a hydraulic hose or whatever, and I’ve just called Hastings Deering up, given the part number and it’s there on the shelf.
“If it isn’t, it’s there on the shelf in a couple of hours and I pick it up, fit it that night and get back to work the next day.
“With some other machines you can’t really do that, you’ve got to get a hose doctor out and they have to make the hose.”
Cat’s 306 CR mini excavator is one of the manufacturer’s latest releases and Scott only purchased it this August.
Cat says it offers 67 per cent increased lift capacity and 27 per cent more power, compared to the previous 305.5 E2CR model.
It also offers 57.9hp (43.2kW) of power and has a bucket breakout force of 51.5kN. Weighing in at 6,410kg, it is 1.98m wide and has a dig depth of up to 3.71m.
As part of Cat’s Next Gen series, it is also packed with the technology Scott highlighted to make long days inside the cabin more comfortable for the operator.
