Using Topcon to get the bigger jobs done

“Our investment in equipment and technology is not only changing the way we work day-to-day, but it’s also making us think about our overall business strategy in a different way,” says Ross Brewer, Operations Support at Camex.

In 2016 the business rebranded from Cambridge Excavators to Camex Civil, reflecting the company’s current focus and growth. Now with more than 50 full-time staff members, Camex is a civil contracting business carrying out largescale excavation and drainage projects for residential and commercial subdivisions, along with new infrastructure and upgrade projects for councils. Some of these projects include the Te Awamutu wastewater treatment plant, Titanium Park at Hamilton Airport, Hamilton Expressway and the Visy Board Factory.

“Introducing Topcon machine control systems has enabled us to take on much larger projects than we could before with manual surveying. Our staff are slowly learning that they’re literally sitting on tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment and technology that is incredibly powerful. It has been a big change so we’re learning to think about jobs differently and we’re approaching our work in a new way, maximising the use of our investment.”

Camex is currently using the Topcon High Speed 3D MC2 dual GPS machine control on their dozer, the Topcon X53i 3D system on excavators, along with the Topcon HiPer V base and rover sets.

“The excavator systems are the most versatile at the moment, for earthworks and drainage. They make it so much easier to see where we are going onsite, and make the job faster and the finished product delivered to our clients so much better. We’re able to leave clients with a level, tidy site, and the assurance that everything is where it is meant to be.”

The company says there wasn’t any urgent need or desire to start using machine control, back in 2016 when they first started talking to the team at Synergy. There were signs, however, that the industry was moving towards more GPS use. As a result, they looked at a few brands and did their due diligence.

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The final decision was made because of the combination of the Topcon technology being just what they needed along with the service and training offered by Synergy.

“We’re now able to focus on – and secure – larger and more technical projects. We’re able to save money that was spent on hiring subcontractors to do surveying for us. And we’ve eliminated a lot of double handling of materials. After only a few demos we were able to see the benefits and savings.”

“The two main benefits have been around reducing double handling, first of all. And then around knowing exactly where things are on site, such as lines and manholes, etc. GPS makes it so much easier to see where everything is and to get the job done right the first time without having to go back over ground. The quality of our finishing is better, and our clients are benefitting from us meeting better timeframes.”

Camex adds that they’re now resource planning in a new way. They share not only the equipment between sites and site managers, but also the experience and learning from the larger jobs. It’s an investment that has helped them grow as a business.

“As our business is growing and evolving, the nature of the jobs we are taking on is also going in a new direction. The team at Synergy has been really supportive of us through that growth. They’re a go-ahead company and are always keen to help out.”