Adelaide trenching contractor, BTR Excavations, has a philosophy of continually upgrading its machinery fleet to ensure the business operates at maximum productivity and efficiency.This strategy is paying dividends, with the company well-placed to ride-out the current tough economic conditions.

Barry and Rick Flitter started BTR Excavations in 1991. They are active in the northern Adelaide suburbs and have had a contract with the SA Government to carry out trenching, water and sewerage work for the State’s water authority for the past 14 years and this was recently renewed for a further three years.

BTR recently purchased four new model 8t JCB 3CX road runner backhoe loaders – one as a replacement for an older 3CX model and the remainder to expand its backhoe fleet to a total of seven JCB 3CX road runners.

“These machines are ideal for our type of work because of their power-slide technology, which allows the operator to hydraulically side-shift the backhoe with the press of a button,” Barry said. “It means there is less site damage because we can shift from side-to-side without putting the bucket down.

The 3CX heavyweight backhoe had equal length boom and dipper, which allowed the operator to dig further away and closer to the machine with good speed and efficiency. When digging trenches, depths could range from 2m to 5m and the JCB road runners were very reliable across that spectrum.

Although the bulk of its contracting work is carried out in the northern suburbs, BTR Excavations undertakes jobs right around Adelaide and it is important to be able to move machinery quickly between sites. “We drive them everywhere across the city and they are very comfortable at speeds of 35-45 km per hour – and with their six-speed automatic soft shift transmission, they are just like driving a car," says Barry.

The Flitters have also recently purchased a 98 hp, 14t JCB JZ140D auto tracked excavator and a 165 hp 426ZX wheeled loader to replace older machines. It is the first time the company has bought a JCB excavator and it was selected for its speed and power, advanced technology management features for all major machine functions and zero tailswing.