Construction World May 2018

COVER STORY

Ten years of SERVICE EXCELLENCE SEALS DEAL

The recent delivery of four JS305LS tracked excavators by earthmoving equipment specialist, Kemach JCB, has boosted key customer, Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire cc’s JCB fleet to 26 machines.

A relationship that spans a decade The relationship with Kemach JCB began in 2008 when Anton Schonken, founder of Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire, met JCB advisor, Gerhard Riekert and paid a visit to the JCB factory in the United Kingdom. Highly impressed by the professionalism, friendliness and efficiency of the JCB personnel, he decided to purchase his first JCB. Kemach Equipment (Pty) Ltd., known as Kemach JCB, was estab- lished in South Africa in 2003 and is the country’s leading distributor of a wide range of superior, rugged and efficient earthmoving equip- ment to the mining, construction, quarrying and plant hire industries. From small acorns mighty oaks grow Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire has an interesting history which started when Anton, who has an agricultural degree from the Grootfontein Agricultural College, had to take over the family farm in the small Eastern Cape town of Tarkastad in 1983 after his father passed away. Six extremely tough years forced him to abandon farming and search for alternate business ventures. With his long-time interest in engineering, he began mending windmills and was awarded a tender for the repair of windmills in what was then known as the Ciskei. Anton also got involved in other projects which involved the construction of dams, the levelling of fields, etc. When he won a pipeline tender he could utilise his interest in water hydraulics. “Digging by hand, we laid between 60 and 80 kms of pipelines per annum. From the early years I adopted the motto ‘People must eat, machines don’t’ and always preferred working with people and not machines. But when it got to a point where I simply needed a machine I decided to hire a tipper truck. I soon discovered that hiring was not an easy option as I was forced by the hiring com- pany to pay upfront for the machine.” So in 1993 he decided to move away from hiring and purchased his first machine. Four years later he registered Lusthof Windmill & Construction (Pty) Ltd. and worked on numerous tenders in the Eastern Cape region including the construction of VIP pit toilets for needy rural schools as well as the building of emergency classrooms for the then Ciskei Government. Due to tremendous growth in the business, Schonken established a second company, Siyakhula, in 2003.

A great place to work – the JCB JS305 cab designed for operator comfort and safety.

The difficulties he experienced when attempting to hire a machine during his pipe laying years motivated him to open a plant hire division alongside his construction business. The company name was duly changed to Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire in July 2014 to reflect the two competencies. “Initially, the construction and plant hire businesses were equal but it was not long before our plant hire division gained the number one position and now comprise 70% of the business,” says Anton. From tough and humble beginnings, Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire is today a highly successful business with a staff complement of close to 200 people and a fleet of 62 machines. The company specialis- es in quarry and gravel road building projects around the country, spanning from Loeriesfontein in the Northern Cape to Port St. John’s in the Eastern Cape as well as cross border in Lesotho. Service – the Kemach JCB difference According to Anton, all machines, irrespective of brand, will require

• Lusthof Civil & Plant Hire now has 26 JCB machines. • Four JS305LC tracked excavators was delivered two months after placing the order. • The JS305 is designed for productivity and efficiency.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2018