Hopper Construction

Kobelco Excavators – for power and efficiency

Hopper Construction prides itself on its innovative and experienced team, broad knowledge of infrastructure and civil works, and strong relationships. Its quality machinery also ensures excellent results — and that’s where Kobelco comes in.

Hoppers has several 35-tonne Kobelco excavators and the brand has become the go-to for the company when it wants new plant.

The civil contracting company has its roots in the Whangaparaoa Peninsula in north Auckland and became firmly established with work on the development of the Pauanui Waterways in Coromandel Peninsula in the early 1990s.

Decades of waterways development have meant Hoppers have become leaders in coastal development. Their depth of experience and technical skill in canal construction have made them specialists in canal and marina projects.

“If you look at the projects on our website it looks like it’s all waterways – Pauanui, Whitianga, Marsden Cove, and so on – but we do a lot more as well, including residential developments, commercial siteworks, and municipal wastewater treatment plants,” says Plant and Equipment Manager Wayne Vincent, who’s been with the company since 1993.

“We’re not a big company, but we like to think we’re punching above our weight.”

Operating throughout Northland, Auckland, and Coromandel Peninsula, part of Hoppers formula for success is running a fleet of late-model machinery, heavily weighted in favour of Kobelco.

“We run a number of Kobelco SK350LCs. They’re a nice size for the things we do. We recently replaced a couple of older excavators as part of our routine fleet upgrades and bought a Kobelco SK210LC-10 and a SK380XDLC.

“The SK210 slots right into our everyday work, while the larger SK380XD will provide us with more capacity for a project we’ve got coming up.

“We’ve been buying Kobelco for years now – we got our first Kobelco back in 2003 – and have always been happy with the service and support we’ve received.”

Even as the company has changed hands, they have retained their personal touch when other brands have become more corporate and distant.

“I also like Kobelco as they always have stock, so there’s no lead times for new plant, and they have good parts availability.

“The product is good; the machines are reliable and productive and, if I’m totally honest, they have good resale when we’ve finished with them. Importantly, the boys that operate them are happy with them. They’re sitting in them for long hours, so they’ve got to be comfortable with them, both ergonomically and operationally.”

The new gear is currently working on a residential development at Ara Hills, northwest of Orewa on Auckland’s North Shore.

“We’ve got the 380 working there as well. We’re loading up a lot of dump trucks in a hurry so having the bigger plant helps.”

Kobelco says the SK380XD is built for extreme durability – engineered to operate in the harshest conditions around the world. This makes it ideally suited for a variety of industries, such as quarry and aggregates, subdivision and underground utilities, and heavy infrastructure and road construction.

Powerful and efficient, Kobelco says the SK380XD has unbeatable stability and first-class lifting capabilities.

“With its increased operating weight, the SK380XD delivers outstanding stability, even at full reach over the side, achieving an impressive safe working load of 5,020 kg (less coupler weight), allowing operators to confidently utilise heavy attachments and load dense bulk materials.”

The smaller SK210LC-10 has been built with efficiency in mind, with its hydraulic system designed to minimise fuel consumption while maximising power:

“With nimble movement and ample digging power, this excavator promises to improve your job productivity.”