Komatsu comes first
01/07/2006

Plant hire specialists, H F Colton, based in Birtley, is the first company in the North East to have experienced Komatsu’s latest offering of the high performance PC210 from the new Dash 8 range.  The owners are father and son, Fintan and Paul Colton, who have steadily grown their business over the last 20 years, with their most recent purchases being two PC210-8 excavators and a new D65EXL bulldozer from Komatsu distributor Marubeni-Komatsu.

H F Colton is halfway through their replacement plan in an effort to lower the average age of their plant offering.  Four existing bulldozers were traded in for the first time purchase of a Komatsu D65EXL.  The decision was based on the productivity levels of the bulldozer and the excellent performance of previous models.  20 out of the 80 machines in H F Colton’s fleet are manufactured by Komatsu, comprising: PC130s, PC210s, PC240s, PC340s and PC450s.

Co-owner, Paul Colton comments: “We favour Komatsu machines as they are robust and perform well.  Our machines are bought for arduous applications, not for show.  One of our oldest Komatsu machine is the PC210-6, first purchased in 2001.  It is very durable and has been used on various jobs such as rock breaking, quarrying, landfill and sewage operations.”

Fitted as standard on the Dash 8 is the KomatraxTM global tracking and monitoring system which provides information on the exact positioning and operation of an excavator.  Paul found this highly impressive, adding: “The KomtraxTM system on the PC210-8 is an amazing feature.  The system is not onerous to the driver, allowing the operator and plant manager the convenience and accessibility of monitoring costs and labour time.  KomtraxTM is especially important for plant hire companies to substantiate claims made by the customer.  Previously, any disputes between the customer and supplier can be ongoing, but with KomtraxTM machine hours and activities are all stored in the system, with the option to control shutdown.”

The newest development on the Dash 8 is the ‘Komatsu Total Technology’ ECOT3 engine, meeting Stage IIIA emissions regulations.  The multi-staged fuel injection system emits precise, high injection pressure whilst significantly reducing the NOx emissions.  Komatsu offer customers real value by combining improved ecology with fuel economy.

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