CSW is an operation based in the South West of England, boasting a host of Kubota machines, kitted out with top of the range attachments and the focus of our visit, Astrak tracks. CSW’s Kubota KX060 has a brand-new set of Astrak 550 wide tracks so when Awesome Earthmovers visited the groundworks company we went with the intention to see these tracks properly put through their paces.
As the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty rubber tracks in the UK, the quality of Astrak’s products is widely regarded by a growing customer base that includes dealers and machine owners in over 25 countries. Established in 2003, it has expanded rapidly and today employs around 200 plus people across the globe.
WITH
Its product portfolio includes rubber and steel tracks, rollers, sprockets, idlers, milling picks, mulched teeth and track chains, ensuring optimal performance for excavators, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment. Additionally, Astrak offers ground-engaging tools such as buckets, bucket teeth, cutting edges, and bolt-on edges, along with hydraulic components like final drives and hydraulic pumps.
The product range supports all brands of tracked construction equipment including CAT, Case, Daewoo, Doosan, JCB, Kobelco, Komatsu, Hitachi, Hyundai, Liebherr, New Holland, and Volvo, while its highly respected brands include TerraTrack rubber tracks, DuraTrack heavy-duty undercarriage parts, DuraLine rubber pads, and GeoTip & GeoXD cutting edge bucket teeth.
Hard wearing & Robust
CSW opted to have the Astrak 550 steel tracks fitted to the five tonne Kubota KX060 for several reasons, not least because they are the widest and most hard-wearing available, as Craig Williams, owner of CSW, told us.
“The majority of the time, the Kubota is operating on hardcore and mud, so the steel tracks are much more suited to the terrain, rather than rubber tracks, especially as the machine is also fitted with a tiltrotator, adding to its overall weight.”
The Rototilt RC2 tiltrotator is as tough as they come. It is especially designed for machines between 3 and 6.5 tonnes, offering all of the adaptability of the larger models but in a smaller package. Featuring Rototilt’s standout cast rotor housing, both ILS central lubrication and the SecureLock safety lock are included as standard.
Craig Williams Director CSW
“FROM PLACING THE ORDER TO TAKING DELIVERY TOOK
JUST THREE DAYS
. THE SERVICE AND SUPPORT IS REALLY GOOD”
“THE SERVICE AND SUPPORT IS
REALLY GOOD. THEY EVEN GAVE ME A CALL AFTERWARDS TO SEE HOW I WAS GETTING ON WITH THEIR PRODUCT.”
A winning combination
It is proving to be a winning combination, as there is a growing demand for the wide tracked Kubota KX060 which was recently commissioned to undertake a large-scale garden centre build project.
CSW’s Craig Williams has also been full of praise for the service and support offered by Astrak.
“When we were looking at putting steel tracks on this Kubota KX060, we sent off an email to Astrak with a list of questions and they replied within the day. From placing the order to taking delivery took just three days. The service and support is really good. They even gave me a call afterwards to see how I was getting on with their product. It’s going pretty well!”
Astrak offers onsite inspections, as well as fitting and servicing, and if any of its tracks need replacing, there is also the option of exchanging the old tracks with new ones which can be fitted on site without any undue delay to minimise the potential for any unnecessary downtime.
Makin’ Machine Control
The Kubota KX060 was also fitted with machine control, supplied by Makin’ who specialise in 2D and 3D systems that have the ability to create virtual job sites, allowing operators a clear view of depths, weak points and structural plans.
There is also the option to make live updates via data sharing between the machine, surveyors and the office so any important site update will be visible to all those at work.
Makin’ also provides wheel loader control solutions, survey technology, tool guidance, compaction software, and the state-of-the-art PerFormans project control tool which lets site plans be created and updated in real time, whilst on the ground.
The Makin’ kit fitted to the Kubota excavator was supplied by the official UK supplier, Nasco Digtec, who also offer on-site, hands-on training in addition to full after-sales support to ensure customers like CSW get the best out of the equipment.