ltd – summer 2011/12 - CablePrice

TRACK & WHEELThe company initially came to Christchurch toanswer a call for demolition equipment, as JohnPaul Stil, senior estimator for the company, explains:“We were in Wellington at the time and one ofour operations managers got a call from someonein USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) asking us tobring some gear down. We just bought down a couple of 40-tonnediggers to begin with. But then we bought a lot of other machinesdown, and the rest is history …”However, none of it was big enough for some of the challengesthe earthquakes presented.A few months ago, the company bought a new 63-tonneHitachi ZX470LCH-3 excavator, a specialist demolition machinewith a three-piece boom and crusher capable of reaching 26metres, used primarily on buildings of five to six storeys. It’s oneof only a few in the country, and Nikau has been operating it inChristchurch since its arrival in mid-2011.The Zaxis-3 LCH-series excavators are well suited to thiskind of work, with features such as a large undercarriageand strengthened boom cylinders. However, strength doesnot compromise efficiency in these machines: clean-burningcommon rail diesel engines and an exhaust gas recirculationsystem are just two of a number of their cost-saving andenvironment-respecting assets.Advanced Hitachi hydraulic technologies also abound inthese excavators. Two examples include the enhanced boomrecirculation systems and a new regenerative oil circuit, both ofwhich effectively store hydraulic energy when the load on thecrusher or bucket is light.Nikau Contractors Ltd was formed in 1980, having grownout of a husband-and-wife lawn mowing company that wasasked to shift an old garden shed. Two sons and two daughtersof founders Diane and John Paul Stil manage the company’soperations in the field today, and it is now one of New Zealand’sleaders in deconstruction, recycling and salvage techniques, withclients ranging from government agencies, regional councilsand iwi, to property developers and general contractors withdemolition, site works and environmental projects on hand.You’d have to say that Nikau Contractors was always a prime32 CablePrice