MAKING AN IMPRESSION

Located in Ascheberg, Münsterland, Ralf Wellering runs Wellering Garten und Landschaftsbau GmbH, a very successful utility and civil engineering company.

Ralf started his company in 1999 and has since grown to employ over 50 people undertaking a range of utility, drainage, and landscaping projects across the region. Along with their utility installation operations, much of their work is centred around both hard and soft landscaping projects with both sides of the company coming together at their recycling plant.

When Ralf said he was looking to buy a new machine, I said Kobelco was the name to look out for...

Situated alongside the Dortmund-Ems Canal, the recycling centre receives almost all of the material generated by the installation of new services undertaken by the company. This material is then put through several stages of recycling much of which is then used in the company’s landscaping projects.

Wellering operates their own fleet of machinery to undertake all of their projects and sees investment in any new equipment as being a vital and important process. “We operate 14 excavators currently, including the new Kobelco SK210LC-11E.” Ralf explained. “Bringing a new machine into the fleet has to be justified and we have to ensure that it is both the correct machine for us and that it has the relevant service and back-up from the dealer and manufacturer that a small company like ours needs. We can’t afford to have a machine that isn’t reliable.”

The new Kobelco, a first for the company, was suggested to Ralf by his operator Claudio Marcelo Córdova Valladares. Originally born in Miami, Marcelo has over 17 years of experience operating heavy machinery across the globe including Chile, Canada, Japan, and the USA with six of those years spent solely on excavators.

“I have spent many years traveling the world with work.” He commented. “I married a German girl and we have settled down here in Ascheberg and I luckily have found work with Ralf. Over my years of operating, one of the best excavators I have used was a Kobelco. It was an older machine but was smooth, powerful, and nice to operate. When Ralf said he was looking to buy a new machine, I said Kobelco was the name to look out for.”

With the Bauma trade fair coming up, Ralf and 10-yearold son Maximilian decided to take a look around and called at the huge Kobelco stand. Speaking to their local dealer Herbers Baumaschinen on the booth, Ralf agreed to take a machine for a short demonstration.

“Before the demonstration machine turned up, I had made some enquiries with other companies and operators I know who were using Kobelco excavators.” Ralf stated. “Their feedback of a good and reliable product backed up Marcelo’s initial words and following a few days of using the machine,

"We were convinced it would be the right machine for our operations and placed the order."

I don’t spend huge amounts of time operating machinery these days, but I did spend some time evaluating the demonstration machine as we need it to be on our fleet for at least 10 years and in that time clock up around twelve thousand hours. I found it to be a very nice machine to operate, very smooth and operator friendly.”

The SK210LC-11E is the latest generation of the Japanese manufacturer’s popular range of excavators which range from sub 1-tonne right up to a huge 130-tonne demolition machine. The SK210LC-11E has an operating weight of around 22.1 tonnes and has been designed around a fuel efficient 4-cylinder Yanmar engine which develops...

127 kW whilst delivering maximum torque of 805 Nm at just 1500rpm. This combination of a low revving, high-torque engine not only allows for excellent productivity figures, but also means that the excavator’s fuel consumption is one of the lowest in its class.

CLAUDIO VALLADARES OPERATOR Wellering

Ralf was impressed with the initial fuel economy of the excavator as previous machines were much heavier on the fuel consumption compared to this. He was particularly impressed with the build quality of the Kobelco saying he will be surprised if there are any issues with the structure over the life of the machine.

From an operator’s point of view, Marcelo was very pleased with the latest generation cab on the SK210. “It’s a big improvement over anything I’ve operated before. There’s so much room in the cab, plenty of space for storing things behind the seat, it’s very impressive! I particularly like the way the controls are laid out. Everything is easy to reach, easy to understand and very easy to use. The main screen has so much information on it, but again, it is so easy to navigate through and find exactly what you want. What has impressed me the most is the built-in compressor that allows me to blow any dust out of the cab in seconds!”

During our visit, Marcelo was using the Kobelco to load the company’s Keestrack crusher with material delivered from one of Wellering’s projects. “It’s such a smooth machine to operate making it easy for me to feed the crusher or our screener with just the right quantity of material.” Marcelo commented. To prove this point, as Marcelo stepped from the cab, Maximilian quickly took his place to carry on loading the crusher! “He loves working in the machines and is very good on the small wheeled loaders we have.” Ralf explained.

“We would certainly look at purchasing another Kobelco in the future.” Ralf confirmed. “The dealer has been very good from the outset; the machine has delivered exactly what we were told it would and I like the colour of them! They stand out from the crowd.”