Porter Press Extra: Dines Group
Dines Group is utilising earthmoving grunt in the form of rugged Rokbak articulated dump trucks, all of which bear the Porter Hire livery
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The 30T Rokbak RA30
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Dines Group project manager, Dominic Marsh, says that utilising the resources of Porter Hire makes sense for the project on a number of levels.
"Everything runs like clockwork with Porter Hire. The depth and breadth of the service they offer is impressive, and they understand the earthmoving business, which is important for us," he says.
"We have a very good relationship with Dave Parker from Porter Hire, who has the knowledge of both our business and the industry to keep our people and machinery moving. He’s a straight shooter and he doesn’t over-promise.
But in saying that, we know that he’ll do the hard yards to get us what we need as quickly as possible. The Porter Hire network is so big that, generally speaking, he will always be able to come up with a solution."
While Dominic says Dines Group own their excavators and other ancillary machines, relying on a hire fleet pays off when it comes to certain types of equipment.
"Porter Hire is invaluable for dump trucks, for example," he continues. "They are a part of the operation that’s crucial when you need them, but there’s no sense in investing in 10 dump trucks and having them just sitting there off-season.
It’s better to be able to turn the tap on or off when you need to and scale up or down depending on what you have going on. The same can be said of compactors, too."
At the sprawling Milldale project near Silverdale, inland from Auckland’s Hibiscus Coast, an entirely new subdivision complete with a future town centre is taking shape.
Dines Group is completing preliminary ground works on the 30-hectare site, and there are plenty of machines bearing the Porter Hire livery visible — a testament to both the diverse array of machinery the hire entity supplies and supports, as well as Dines Group’s reliance on the service.
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Rokbak ADTs provide plenty of comfort for the operator
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Front and centre are rugged and reliable articulated dump trucks from Scottish manufacturer, Rokbak. A feature of quarries and infrastructure projects right around New Zealand — and the world — 30-tonne Rokbak RA30s and 40-tonne Rokbak RA40s provide plenty of comfort for the operator in tandem with some serious earthmoving grunt. Dominic’s definitely a fan.
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Rugged and reliable ADTS from Scottish manufacturer, Rokbak
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"You can’t fault the Rokbaks; they’re really good at what they do. They’re nimble and comfortable. Despite the name change from Terex a while ago, they remain familiar to operate, with all the usual well-laid-out controls in the cab. The auto grease system is great. Basically, they’re a traditional dump truck but everything just feels a bit more top-notch."
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17.5m3 heaped dumper body capacity
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Offering up 17.5 cubic metres heaped dumper body capacity out back and a gutsy 370hp (276kW) Scania D9 five-cylinder turbo diesel up front, the all-wheel drive (6x6) Rokbak RA30 features plenty of ruggedised parts, such as heavy-duty axles with fully floating axle shafts, as well as front and rear frames constructed from all-welded high-grade steel.
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The RA30 is made for the toughest jobs
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The same can be said for the engineering that goes into the dumper body at the back, ensuring no material is too tough for the trucks.
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The RA30 Rokbak is fitted with a 370hp (276kW) Scania D9 five-cylinder turbo diesel
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"We have both 30-tonners and 40-tonners here at present," continues Dominic. "This is actually the first season we’ve used the 40-tonners. They’re really good for longer hauls, which are a feature of this site.
But generally, the 30-tonne truck gives you a good all-round machine. Where you have complex batters or ponds, it’s better to go lighter. You get that with the 30-tonners, but you aren’t compromising on ability."
More than just a quick supplier of machinery at the beginning of the contract, Dominic says the whole process of hiring machinery through Porter Hire remains a dependable exercise throughout the time each machine spends on the ground, including servicing.
"Porters still run to the same sort of service scheduling you’d get if you had bought the machine new — there’s no difference there. We programme in the service ahead of time,
so we can plan to have the machine offline," he explains.
"We’ve got two techs on-site today as it happens, doing the service on one of the trucks. Even that’s above and beyond. Porters don’t need to send two guys, but they have because they know we’re on a bit of a time crunch, and we don’t want the machine sitting idle all day. That’s pretty commendable in my eyes.
"Hiring gear through Porter Hire just gives us that extra degree of flexibility. They offer a smart rate and a smart service for the money. It really works for us."
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