![]() This particular dozer has over 16,000hrs on the clock, had previously been working in a rock quarry and was extensively refurbished by the previous owner. The old 375A was certainly a sight for sore eyes I’ve been searching for one to test and review for years.Ī quick look over and you could see it has done a lot of work, but in this game one knows that it’s not only Cat that are "built to be rebuilt" but that Komatsu is proof that there are generations of machinery that fit that category and this old Komatsu 375A is a perfect example. This decision to hire the D10 ensured a good quality of material was immediately available, quantity was plentiful and with ongoing QA and QC the boys were able to attract some long-term prospective clients for the sale of their products. Not totally sure of the quality of the products in the immediate open cut zone it was not wise to expend valuable cash on purchasing a large dozer, so hiring was the best avenue to follow by far. Purchased from Porter Equipment Brisbane, this machine replaced a hired D10 dozer, which was originally bought in to tidy up the now deserted and overgrown mine, and they commenced sourcing suitable materials for on-sale and on-site roadworks use. The rest is history.Īlthough there are several items of interesting gear on this job, the one that took my fancy was the old 375A Komatsu dozer. He spoke to Hardy, who had many items of earthmoving equipment, and a decision was made to invest into the mining lease and, combining the best part of 80 years of earthmoving experience, some cash and equipment into the project. The landowners decided that they would not extend the lease to the existing mining lease holders and contacted Dawe (whom had known the landowners for many years) for some advice and direction. The quarry was leased by others for many years but fell into a poor state over the last years of its lease. Russ Hardy and Bill Dawe are partners of East Coast Decorative Stone at a re-incarnated sandstone quarry located north of Yamba and south of Ballina on the North Coast of NSW. Within 10k of our destination, the rain stopped, the sun came out, humidity rose and the new Cat boots got their first taste of water and mud but what lay before us is what "Ronnie’s Road Trip" dreams are made of. Three hours of driving through mountainous winding roads, pissing down rain, 4am start, take away blacks and constant BOM researching had us thinking we may have made the wrong decision, but hey, I live in "God’s country" and although not on a first name basis we often nod to each other over the fence and always try to help each other out. Now this job was purely for a cover shot but I reckoned that there had to be some good gear and good blokes that would certainly interest our readers if I could just convince the boys on the job. #Dozer line professionalNow professional anything our small group is not, but we give everything a good shot irrespective of where, how far, weather conditions and subject – the challenge of delivering where others fear to go is just the thing we thrive on.Ĭhallenge taken, I grabbed my videographer (Michael Grassick) and clapper and co-ordinator (Susan Hadgkiss) and, with weather conditions absolutely abysmal we headed off. This shot required someone to travel some distance from the big smoke, well off the black top and far from the "latte set" of which many of those in this profession are overly familiar with. So it therefore made my day when I got a call from the Editor stating that they were having trouble in securing a professional photographer to secure a cover shot for the magazine. Opportunities in life can come from anywhere, at any time and be quite random. ![]()
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