14
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2015
d
&
ri
DEMOLITION
EXCAVATORS
A Volvo EC700CL carrier undergoesmodification
work at Kocurek’s Ipswich facility for its new
demolition role
Kocurek’s Ron Callan has been at the forefront of high
reach developments overmore years than he cares to
remember
machinesweighing45 tonnes at that time,
whenwe startedgoingup inweight class, then
it becomes an evenmore critical factor. The
conceptDavid cameupwith allowed the front
end tobe changed in just 30minutes, which
was an absolute god-send.”
While themodular joint is obviously a
highlight ofKocurek’s success inRon’smind,
there areothers.He said: “Of course, there is
thedevelopment of the telescopic boom. That
tookus into another realm and allowedus to
move tobiggermachines. Inmy view, a three
pieceboom is not an ideal solution to reach
theheights that a telescopic cango to from
a stabilitypoint of view and the toolweight
suffers aswell.”
There are anumber ofOEMs producing
high reachmachines in the small tomedium
height range, up to30m (98 ft) or sowho
specify a 2.5 tonne toolweight.Given the
customer demandRonhas already identified
for larger tools, does he think theseOEMs
will have to respond to this demand?He
said: “I think they’ll have to. I justwonder
whether the sizeof themarket is sufficient
for them to continue toproduce their own
demolition front ends for their base carriers.
Numbers is thename of the game for them,
with their productionprocess similar to car
manufacture.However, theremaybe a feeling
on their part that theyought tohave such
equipment available in their product range
so I don’t know ifwewill ever get ridof abit
of the competition, but it is nice to thinkwe
might.”
■
height of thebighigh reaches has gone from
a relativelymodest 40m (130 ft) or soup to
90m (295 ft). Kocurek itself has taken its
machines up to themid60m (200 ft) range
but Ronhas firm views on the subject.
He said: "Height has not become the
be-all and end-all. People are beginning to
look at theweights that thesemachines can
carry in terms of tools.Whileheight is still a
requirement and still has apart toplay, tool
weight has become thedominant factor.On
theheight sideof the argument, the feedback
I havebeengetting for the operators of these
machines is that theydonot feel comfortable
withgoingmuchhigher.”
Ronwent on: “We get up to67m (220 ft)
and it is obvious that someonewill pushus
to70m (230 ft). I don’t thinkwe are terribly
keen togo that high, but at the same time I do
not seeus resisting if a customerwants it.”
Ronhas beenwithKocurek from the start.
He said: “I joinedKocurek in1998, andDavid
Kocurek alreadyhadoneor twoof themore
simplemachines into themarket andhad just
comeupwith themodular joint concept, with
the latter being the absolutemakingof the
company in someways. Thebiggest problem
at the timewaswhen a contractorwon ahigh
reach job, andgot amachine for it, if hehad
nootherwork suitable for themachine, it just
sat in the yardbecause itwas such amajor
task tomanually switch the front endover.
Such an expensivemachine sitting idle is not a
good situation for a contractor tohave.”
“Consideringwe are taking about
