Brandt lays groundwork for success

Brandt’s compact construction equipment range means business.

Brandt has a range of John Deere compact construction equipment.

This is an Ag Gear special advertising feature brought to The Weekly Times readers by Brandt.

When Rhys Mundy bought his first small excavator, he had no idea that it would be the first step on the road to a new career. Until this year, Rhys had spent his entire working life on the land – managing large family farms and corporate farms around the Ballarat area.

Today he owns and runs RAM Groundworks, a newly-launched company specialising in excavation, landscaping, concreting and earthworks. To cope with demand for his services, Rhys has also expanded his range of compact construction equipment beyond the initial 1.8 tonne compact excavator.

He has been a regular customer at Brandt’s showroom in Ballarat and now owns a 317G compact track loader and a 3.6 tonne compact excavator with a number of attachments, including a tilt bucket and tilt hitch – all manufactured by John Deere.

“The John Deere brand drew me to Brandt. Working on farms and dealing with agricultural gear for years, I’ve always had good experiences with John Deere. I felt if they could do a good job with tractors, then they would probably do a good job with their civil machinery,” says Rhys.

“Dealing with Brandt has also been a great help because they’ve been able to deliver the equipment that I want quickly. The service is prompt and thorough and the finance options are better than anywhere else I’ve seen.”

Rhys Mundy of RAM Groundworks.

Brandt has a range of John Deere compact construction equipment. The 1.8 tonne and 3.6 tonne excavators feature a zero-tail-swing design and retractable undercarriage and are fast and easy to manoeuvre.

The powerful and reliable compact skid steer range is available in 60hp up to 100hp and the compact track loaders with their low centre of gravity have proven to be agile and stable on slopes and also range from 60 to 100hp. A selection of attachments is also available to boost equipment versatility.

Theo Zaxos, Compact Construction Equipment Sales Consultant for Brandt in Ballarat, says the range is popular with a wide range of tradespeople — from plumbers and carpenters to builders and landscapers. Road crews and the agricultural sector have also bought the compact models.

“Plumbers choose the excavators for digging trenches and laying pipes and civil contractors find the compact equipment useful for site clearing and many other tasks. The entire compact construction equipment range is reliable, very versatile and can take on a lot of jobs without any problems,” says Theo.

“A lot of tradespeople like Rhys are buying these machines because they want the convenience of having the right equipment available whenever they need it.”

Brandt offers a comprehensive after-sales service that is also a drawcard for customers like Rhys who need to know they will have expert equipment advice available as and when they need it.

“There is a healthy market demand for compact construction equipment and we expect to have new products available within the next 12 to 18 months – bigger track loaders and possibly a larger excavator,” says Theo.

For Rhys, business is brisk and his compact construction equipment is being kept busy all around the Ballarat area.

“We’re doing small excavation work, landscaping, concreting and big waterwork pipes on farms. We’re trenching in a few kilometres of piping at the moment to run a water system from tanks to troughs on a farm. In town we are doing some landscaping work for businesses and residential homes and we’re doing earthworks for electrical contractors and running cables,” says Rhys.

“Theo mentioned there will be an 8.5 tonne excavator available in the next 12 to 18 months and, in the future, I can see my business will need a machine of that size for bigger commercial concreting jobs and drainage works.

“Giving up farming to start a business of my own has been a big step but I made that decision because I wanted to create a better lifestyle for my family and to have more time with my kids. I work big days but, in the evening, I can spend time with my family and I’m loving that.”