Victorian (Australia) civil construction company, Califam Constructions, has owned a lot of Kobelco machinery over the years and says its latest purchase, a SK500LC-9 excavator, is a great addition to its fleet. “Kobelco machinery has been a mainstay of our company’s fleet for many years,” says Managing Director Anthony Caligiuri. “In general they’re a very strong machine and are great on fuel consumption. Plus they can handle the bigger rock breakers really well compared to other machines in the same class.”

Califam Constructions specialises in earthmoving and civil construction related to building pipelines and has undertaken many significant projects for major developers and water authorities in and around the greater Melbourne area.

“We pride ourselves on our state-of-the-art plant and technologies and our ability to deliver projects on time and to budget. Having the best machines is part of maintaining that productivity” says Caligiuri.

“We’ve had a number of SK480LC-8s before, and we still do. They perform well against competitive models but we knew that the new SK500LC-9 would perform better than the previous model so decided to give the 50-tonne SK500LC-9 a try.”

The SK500LC-9 features a Hino P11C-VC six-cylinder common rail engine that delivers 10% more productivity and better fuel efficiency than the previous model.

“The reduced fuel consumption was a major factor in our decision but it also runs at a good speed when compared to other machines in its class. Its track speed is good too so it’s the complete package” says Caligiuri.

Safety is also a big consideration for Califam as they use the excavator for deep trenching in hard rock with a rock breaker attachment.

The operating weight of the SK500LC-9 is almost 50,000 kg which is significantly heavier than earlier models and the cab also has rollover protection and is certified up to 56,000 kg to cater for large attachments.