DRYMEN-based Joe Allan & Sons Plant Hire and Contracting has snapped up a new KX085-5 midi-excavator designed to meet the firm’s exacting standards.
The business, which is a specialist in low ground pressure operation, is used to accessing remote power infrastructure across Scotland for utility provider SSE. With both wheeled and tracked machinery in the fleet, MD David Allan was looking for a specific crawler excavator.
After consultation with Kubota dealer HRN Tractors, the company has opted for a KX085-5 with a two-piece boom, that provides the additional reach and digging capability the firm requires. The machine has been further enhanced with an engcon tiltrotator.
However, it is below the slew ring that things become more bespoke. David Allan called on Stirling-based low ground pressure specialist JCC Group, to convert the Kubota to meet the company’s specific needs. With standard 450mm-wide track pads, that can be taken to 600mm as an option on the KX085-5, the company was looking for lower ground pressure than the standard model could provide. JCC removed the track frames, widened the mountings on the X-frame, and equipped each side with an additional two top rollers to lift the track clear of the frames.
This has allowed the company to fit a 900mm-wide track pad – double the standard machine’s track width – resulting in reduced ground pressure on softer terrain. JCC also lifted the slew ring turret by around 150mm to provide additional ground clearance beneath the upper structure. The machine’s standard dozer blade has also been extended on each side to match the new overall width of the tracks.
“The machine has been designed mainly for utilities and some private work,” said Mr Allan. “But we have been picking up extra work already, as people know that we have the two-piece boom and the tiltrotate hitch. It’s still easy to move the machine, especially in tight access, as it’s based on an eight-tonner, just with the wider track frames.”
David’s father Joe Allan started the company almost 50 years ago. With five full-time employees, the business has nine machines in total, including another Kubota tracked model.
“We’ve known Andy (Wilson, construction sales manager) and the team at HRN for years,” Mr Allan added. “Service and back-up is always better if you keep it local and we rely on the dealer to look after the Kubota machines. We can cover anywhere up to Perth and across Scotland, and HRN provides the back-up that we need to look after our customers.”
Weighing 8,392kg to 9,097kg, depending on specification, Kubota’s KX085-5 is offered with a mono-boom that provides 7,330mm of forward reach, or a two-piece boom that increases that to 7,820mm. The machine is powered by a 46.5kW (63.2hp) Stage V turbo-diesel engine. It uses a two-pump load-sensing hydraulic system. Two auxiliary circuits are standard for attachment power and an electronically-controlled third line return is automatically activated when breaker mode is selected.
