Attach2 caught up with Tim Smith, the Construction Manager for JSC Concreting down here in Canberra on the Bidfords construction site.

Tim talks to us about the history of the company and the importance of maintaining strong relationships in the industry. He discusses putting their new Kobelco SK380XDLC 38 ton excavator to work, all hooked up with the Attach2 performance package (Heli-Tilt Coupler, Buckets & Ripper) and how the equipment they use helps to ensure success for both them and their clients. 

Kerb Kings

Family owned and operated since 2008, JSC is a Canberra based company with over 15 years experience in the concrete and contracting industry. Well recognised within the Canberra community for their excellence & quality assurance, they specialise in concrete pavements including kerb and gutter.

JSC also provide all aspects of residential and commercial civil works, bulk haulage, concrete slabs, driveway’s, path’s, vehicle entries and more, and have become well regarded especially for their kerb works. They have had a big part in building Canberra’s iconic community and have forged great relationships with clients and local councils, as well as maintaining a strong reputation for ensuring productive, time-effective, and well-maintained job sites. 

Tim explains how it all began: 

“We were predominantly a concrete company for residential and commercial, then we moved into curb and gutter works. In 2014, we bought our first excavator and began to move into the civil industry, and now we've got a strong foundation in doing contract works for government stakeholder, residential and commercial building companies and for all the surrounding councils. Having the support within the company to be able to manage almost everything in-house is really important to us.” 

Since 2008, the company has grown significantly and boasts a range of equipment, currently operating around 25 pieces of plant, and with seven truck and dogs. 

Values and relationships are key 

Having worked on every major project in the area in some respect since they were founded, JSC knows that developing relationships with clients is paramount to the success of a company. Something that they take very seriously are their core values: 

“Our core values consist of respect, growth, caring, team work and communication, Without these values, we wouldn't be able to move forward. No job would be able to take place, they mean quite a bit to us.” 

Going beyond relationships with clients, these values are built from the ground up at JSC. 

We develop our relationships with customers and clients the way that we do with our own staff members. We like to grow our staff and upskill them through the industry. Without our staff members, there wouldn't be a JSC. We wouldn't be able to move forward the way that we are.” 

On a personal note, Tim touches on how much JSC means to him and how it has impacted his life. 

“I've been given so many opportunities here to be able to grow myself, to better my life, better the prospects for my family. The culture and communication through the company has given me the opportunity to really move forward in life and the flexibility to provide what's best for me and for my family, which in turn gives me the ability to try and do what's best for JSC.” 

Love at first introduction 

JSC worked with their local dealer, STM to ensure that their equipment was up to task. The majority of the machines at JSC are Kobelco, and the dealers at STM recommended Attach2 attachments to them after they had voiced some concerns about other excavator attachments they were using. 

“We've worked with STM for many years. We'd had some problems in the past with previous attachment suppliers. Some hitches weren't working properly and were having to have constant maintenance.” 

Tim explains his experience since working with the Attach2 attachments, and how they have improved the overall efficiency and productivity of JSC day to day. 

“So far with Attach2, we haven't had any problems and they have really stepped up the performance. It's really given us the opportunity with the tilt hitch to do diverse detail work, but also jump in with rippers and strong buckets to be able to get through some of the hard rock.” 

The right tools for the job 

Working on this large scale project for Bidfords, Tim describes the project and what needs to be done. 

“We're going to be doing the bulk earthworks, detailed excavation, the tying and installation of reo-bar and concrete footings and pavement construction [here for Bidfords] - about 20,000 squares of concrete, and then all the curb and guttering, loading docks and car parks to go along with that. There's 8,000 cubes of cut, 4,000 cubes of export.” 

“For the excavator we're using currently, [Kobelco SK380XDLC 38 ton excavator] we've got a mud bucket, a GP bucket, and a 750 bucket for trenching. We've also got the ripper. We chose these specific attachments so that we could have versatility in the machine.” 

When asked about any challenges faced, Tim shakes his head and says JSC likes to look at them instead as opportunities for growth. 

“There isn't a great deal of large challenges on this [project] but we do have some considerably hard rock up in the back corner. We're unable to rip it with our grader so we get the excavator up with our new Attach2 hitch and ripper on it and it's making light work of it.” 

Making it easy 

Being able to rely on your machines working continuously is paramount to a successful project, as well as being able to do bulk work quickly. Tim tells us how the Attach2 attachments he is using ensure everything stays on track. 

“The GP bucket can pull out rock. The ripper itself gives us unbelievable ability to work through hard ground. The mud bucket gives us maximum volume to be able to load trucks efficiently, maximising productivity for the client and also for us.” 

“Having maximum durability and maximum strength along the buckets gives you the reliability to know you're not going to let your clients down and deliver the project on time and budget”. 

Looking to the future 

Impressed with the range of attachments that Tim and the team are currently working with, they express interest in other excavator purchases down the track, and are currently talking with the team around getting some more trenching buckets. 

Tim hasn’t had to contact the after-sales team for any warranty fixes so far, but he explains how he has trust in the team that nothing will be an issue going forward. 

“Everything's been great, but through the communication we've had, I don't think anything's going to be a problem. The after-sales service from Attach2 has been absolutely fantastic. Communication is great, everything's been on time. I would definitely recommend Attach2 to everyone else. Any of the attachments moving forward would be a great asset to any company.”