CASE CONSTRUCTION HELPS QUARRY DIG INTO CHINA MARKET

CASE CONSTRUCTION HELPS QUARRY DIG INTO CHINA MARKET
(November 2010) – Two Case Construction excavators have enabled a Queensland sandstone company to increase its production almost sevenfold to cope with massive Chinese export demands.

Capricorn Sandstone Quarries has just received the prestigious Tom Burns Award for Emerging Exporters to China and Vietnam at the Premier of Queensland's Export Awards in Brisbane. It is in the final stages of negotiating sales orders for more than 20,000 tonnes of sandstone to be delivered to China within the next 18 months. The impressive deal almost triples export demands for the Stanwell-based company that sent 7,000 tonnes to Shanghai and Beijing in the past 18 months.

“Our Case CX240B excavators have played a big part in our success,” said Capricorn Sandstone Quarries Site Senior Executive Reece Gough. “We got our first CX240B excavator in 2007 and we produced 10,000 tonnes of sandstone. As demand grew, we purchased another CX240B in 2009 and we now mine 20,000 tonnes a year. Before we had the two Case excavators, sandstone output was at 3,000 tonnes a year.

“Our company has been quarrying at Stanwell since 1994 and a substantial investment has been directed towards machinery and quarry development,” said Reece. “Our Case machines, operating in the extreme conditions of a sandstone quarry, give us reliable performance. They outperform other brands and offer great value for money.

“We looked at a few different brands of excavators for the quarry. The Case excavators were really the most cost effective, allowing us to buy a new attachment for the excavators.”

One of the excavators is mainly used to operate a three-metre cutting wheel for cutting sandstone. The other CX240B is used for cutting wheel and hammer work at the quarry. Both machines also operate with a grab and a bucket occasionally.

“Working 12 hour shifts for more than a year, the excavators have clocked up over 8,000 hours of cutting wheel and hammer work between them. The excavators undergo regular maintenance and have had very little downtime,” said Reece. “We're also pleased with the fuel economy. We use between 13 and 16 litres of fuel an hour on the CX240Bs.”

Reece purchased the CX240Bs from his local Case dealership, Milne Bros Equipment in Rockhampton.

“Ron Milne and his staff provide friendly, accessible service and advice, and the backup service from Case has been excellent,” said Reece. “Our business is continually expanding and we will certainly be looking to Case to supply machines for our future requirements and upgrades.”

Nationally, Capricorn Sandstone Quarries has supplied its sandstone to Queensland and New South Wales governments, local councils and commercial construction companies for heritage restoration and new building projects.

“We supplied the sandstone for Parliament House in Brisbane, the Citibank building in Sydney and St Joseph's Cathedral in Rockhampton,” said Reece. “The national economy has slowed down, so we decided to focus a bit more on our export market.”

Capricorn Sandstone Quarries now exports its product to China, South East Asia and the Middle East.

“The sandstone goes in large blocks and is then cut into slabs for wall panels and decorative carvings for luxury residential building projects,” said Reece. “We've now got high production at the quarry, so we can build our sandstone stockpile to fast track any future orders."

The quarry also won the Trade Queensland Emerging Exporter of the Year award at the Capricorn Tourism & Economic Development and Ergon Energy Business Excellence Awards this month.