by Nick Drew | Sun 09 Jun 2013
Engcon tiltrotator puts Shaun Gratton at the cutting edge of plant hire
Shaun Gratton is an owner/operator trading as S. Gratton Plant Hire, from his base in the Staffordshire Moorlands. Since opting for a tiltrotator 7 months ago, he, like many end users now adopting these work tools, has not looked back!
Shaun had been interested in the Engcon tilitrotators since 2008, when he witnessed them being demonstrated at the old SED show. Shaun’s initial thoughts were what a brilliant piece of kit they are. Shaun said, “I had read a lot about them in magazines and on the internet, on various blogs and forums, but I had never actually seen one in the metal, as such I was a bit sceptical as to how good they would be and will they stand the test of time out in the field”. Following on from his Engcon experience at the show, Shaun returned to work and set about obtaining a price for an Engcon unit. At the time, Shaun was running a year 2000 model Komatsu PC27R-8, so he thought if he was going to buy something new it should really be an upgrade to his existing machine. The following year Shaun replaced his old machine with a brand new Komatsu PC27MR-2.
Around the same time as I took delivery of my new Komatsu, my good mate Eddie Warrener took delivery of his new Kubota KX080-3 LGP fitted with an Engcon unit. This gave Shaun a great opportunity to visit one of Eddie’s sites, where he could have some time in the seat and try out the Engcon for himself. Shaun said, “Upon having a go in Eddie’s machine, my Engcon feeling’s kicked into overdrive, but sadly with the recession kicking in, my thoughts were it might be best to put the idea of getting one on the back burner for a while, which lasted for three years!
Some years later, Shaun spent a whole day helping Eddie out on a job, and having had a good play on his machine, he quickly realized the full potential of tiltrotators, and at this point there was little doubt in Shaun’s mind that he would be going down the Engcon route, sooner rather than later.
In 2012, we visited the Hillhead mining and quarrying exhibition in Buxton, and during a visit to the then Engcon UK’s stand, Shaun did a deal with Tim Wood, for an EC02B with an S30 top and S30 bottom quick hitch set up, with a fully proportional control set up. A short time after the show, the unit was installed by K & W Mechanical Services Ltd. Shaun also decided to purchase an Engcon grading bucket, which he describes as a brilliant addition to his set up.
The Engcon unit has now been on Shaun’s machine for over 7 months and it continues to impress him and his customers on a daily basis. Commenting on the Engcon, Shaun said, “I think it’s a fantastic piece of kit, and as many have said before, it totally changes the way you can work with a machine, making your machine far more flexible in what can be achieved. In addition, the range of attachments that can be used on the unit open up a whole new world for us as operators”.
One such attachment is the Engcon kerb grab, which Shaun recently purchased for his machine, something that has been well received by his portfolio of customers. The next attachment on Shaun’s shopping list looks likely to be a selector grab, which are becoming very popular attachments throughout the industry.
Summarising his Engcon experience so far Shaun commented, “The Engcon has been a revelation for me. I love it, my customers are impressed with it, and it continues to win me more work and contracts every day, something that I wasn’t really expecting this soon after buying the product. My only regret is that I didn’t do it 4 years ago!”