With the demand for specialist machines outstripping supply globally, and with construction materials at a premium locally, quarries are feeling the “pinch” of the Australian infrastructure boom. As Delta Rent’s Richard Khan explains, plant and equipment rental could be part of the solution to this “squeeze”.
Delta Rent is an integral division of Delta Group and operates one of the largest hire fleets of specialised plant and equipment in the country. More than 200 high performance machines are available for hire under flexible short-, medium- and long-term hire plans. The machines are equipped with triple-certified integrated management systems and GPS tracking.
We operate purpose-built, in-house mechanical and fabrication workshops to maintain our fleet, including precision attachments and spare parts. Maintenance is also provided as part of our rental service (at no additional cost) and site-specific expert support is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days a year.
UNDER PRESSURE
According to Richard, the economics of heavy plant hire have never been stronger as pressure builds on Australian quarries and small-to-mid scale miners to produce more from less.
“The deployment, operation and maintenance of heavy plant and equipment is high risk and capital intensive,” he says. “It’s even more so when there is a worldwide shortage and surging local demand for specialist machines.”
A strengthening US economy, coupled with China’s expansive “Belt & Road” initiative, is stretching global plant stocks to their limits while $75 billion worth of public infrastructure projects over the next 10 years in Australia is all but exhausting local supplies.
Caught in the middle are Australian quarries struggling to meet demand for construction materials and small-to-mid scale miners trying to maintain existing production levels with ageing assets. “Even if they have the capital and can assume the risk,” Richard explains, “they simply can’t guarantee delivery of their plant in time to satisfy demand for their materials or to meet their project life cycle.”
In response to global demand, more players are diversifying into heavy plant rental but it’s a case of “buyer beware or renter regret”, according to Khan.
“Their range of plant and equipment may be top shelf and appear impressive at first glance, but there’s significant downside if it isn’t fit for purpose and the best machine for a particular project or job.”
“That’s how we differentiate ourselves,” Khan added. “We match our client to the right plant and equipment so they maximise machine turns and minimise downtime.
“Depending on the job at hand and the specific outputs, there may be one particular model or a particular mix of makes and models that deliver the most efficient and reliable results.”
LATE MODEL MACHINERY
With the backing of one of the largest diversified contractors of its type in the world today, Delta Rent has invested more than $50 million in late model heavy machinery over the past 12 months and tens of millions more in forward orders.
The company’s latest acquisitions include L260H Volvo wheel loaders, Hitachi zero-tail-swing mid-size excavators, Caterpillar 773G rigid trucks, and Volvo EC480 excavators – to name a few. In addition to Delta Rent’s heavy hire equipment, Delta Group’s recycling division can also supply key contract crushing and screening services for quarries and other extractive operators.
Delta Recycling’s fleet of mobile crushers and screens comprises a variety of types and brands for contract crushing purposes: jaw crushers (Nordberg LT125 and LT140, Powerscreen XA750 and XR400, Sandvik QJ341), cone crushers (Terex Pegson 1300), impact and VSI crushers (Sandvik QI240 and Pegson XV250), incline screens (Powerscreen Chieftain 1400 and 2100, McCloskey S190), horizontal screens (Powerscreen Horizon 6203R) and scalping screens (McCloskey R155, Extec E-7).
With Australia’s largest heavy hire and contract crushing fleet at its disposal and a packed workbook of blue chip industrial and commercial demolition and civil construction projects, Delta makes the most of its scale to maintain an exceptionally diverse register of specialist plant and equipment.
As a result, our workbook includes a number of national and multinational quarrying and mining clients, as well as more than 100 quarrying and mining sector clients Australia-wide. In turn, we have the capacity and capability to offer bespoke dry hire solutions that satisfy just about any scope of works in any location – across Australia.
“Our understanding of the project life cycle and optimising plant performance is one of our greatest advantages,” Richard said. “Our clients benefit from our experience as one of the world’s largest diversified contractors and they can trust us implicitly when we design a heavy hire program for their project.”
FLEXIBLE APPROACH
As contractors and operators of heavy machinery like Delta Group know all too well, weather, stand-downs or breakdowns follow Murphy’s Law and can occur at the worst possible time in a project life cycle. To account for this, Delta Rent offers flexible rental terms and pricing structures and has invested heavily in a network of qualified and experienced field technicians as well as heavy haulage contractors to move or service plant anywhere in Australia.
“Float charges and fully trained mechanics are included in our rate structure and will be on-site to ensure peak utilisation of our plant and equipment,” Richard said.
“All of our machinery is compliant with MDG15, MDG1014, MDG41, AS4024 and the National Code for Managing Risks of Plant where applicable and we can re-fit plant to satisfy site or client-specific demands.
“And if we can’t fix a breakdown on-site or if weather delays call for extra plant to make up lost time, we can have replacement or additional machines on-site and fully operational within 48 hours.”
