Growing up in Campbelltown, an hour out of Sydney, Trent Ford, owner of Hart Civil Contractors, probably had little idea his future lay in earthmoving, let alone running his own business. “School didn’t really suit me, to tell you the truth,” he laughs. “But after I graduated, I moved to Queensland for a brief time with my mum. She was living on a farm at Bundaberg and that was the first time I got on any machinery.”
Having cut his operating teeth on a 30-ton Cat and Bobcat, Trent eventually took that experience back to Campbelltown, scoring his first job with NJD Civil. “We did a bit of everything,” he recalls. “Mainly working with small excavators, around 5-ton. They did a lot of concrete and also handled local government jobs like schools and footpaths. So, a good array of work, which was great for getting some broad experience in all those fields.”
After 9 months, at the tender age of just 16, a family friend helped Trent go for a job with TRN. “They’re one of the bigger companies in Sydney, so it was a great opportunity,” he says. “I started as a labourer, laying storm drainage pipes and worked my way up to a supervisor role.”
But after a decade, with a young family to support, Trent knew he needed to take his career to the next level. “By then, we’d had our second child and were building our first house,” he explains. “So, I took another supervisor role at a different Company working on a wide range of deep excavation jobs and landscaping works. Then, of course, Covid hit.”
With the industry slowing down and people being laid off, Trent got to thinking about starting his own venture. “I was working as a subby, operating for two companies on the excavators and laying pipes,” he shares. “At some point, I ended up working full-time with Mick Bray, another ex-TRN supervisor I knew. He was hiring an 8-tonne, doing subsoil drainage on subdivisions, and one day I said to him, ‘If I buy my own machine, will you hire that off me, rather than hiring a machine off someone else?’ And he was into the idea, so I ended up purchasing my first digger. It was a 10T Yanmar – which I still have. So, it all just evolved from there.”
Once he got going, Trent started adding to his fleet. “Over time, I got a couple of other small machines, just to put out on dry hire – 1.7 excavators and the like,” he says. “Finally, I branched out and took on my first employee, my brother-in-Law, Josh. So, we were a two-man band before my other brother-in-Law come to work for me as well. And we’ve since added a fourth and fifth operator and also a handful of subbies.”
Growing at that speed was a bit daunting at times, but Trent’s philosophy is you have to get out there and give things a go. “If it was easy, everyone would do it,” he laughs. “But I don’t like to live and regret. If you want to do something, have a crack at it. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. But having done it, I don’t think I’d be able to work for someone else again. Running a business is stressful and it’s hard, but I thrive on it now.
Trent reckons it helped to have solid experience working with a good company, like TRN. “They were a good bunch of blokes, and it was a very great place to learn,” he shares. “It was only once I left there, I realised how diligent they are with their work. Everything was done correctly and in a proper process. Everything’s in a routine. Not all companies are like that.”
In fact, his colleagues from TRN are still a big source of support. “I made a lot of lifetime friends, actually,” Trent shares. “Most of them have started their own businesses, too. So, everybody knows everybody and helps each other out. Often, it’s something as simple as borrowing a bucket. But it’s a good way to make it through the industry. If everyone tries to be cutthroat, it doesn’t work out.”
Another constant source of encouragement is Rachel, Trent’s wife. “I think taking that big step and buying that first machine was much more daunting for my wife than it was for me,” he says. “But she always supports everything I do. She’s generally the voice of reason but she has faith in me that I can make it happen.”
Trent bought new machines right from the start of his business. Which is a bit unusual for someone starting out. “For me, it’s just common sense,” he shares. “You can buy somebody else’s problem, or you can buy a new machine covered by warranty. And, realistically, the payments aren’t that different once you break it down over the five years. It might be an extra $400 a month, which you can cover if you’re working flat out. And you’re also saving money in breakdowns, hoses, and stuff going wrong.”
Speaking of things going wrong, Trent also believes in going for a machine that’s fit for purpose, over going for every bell and whistle. “I always liked the Kobelcos,” he says. “And it was getting to the point where other machines were going too far with technology – there’s too many things break down. That’s why I initially bought the Yanmar – because it’s not the flashest machine but it’s got a lot of power. It does the job. The Kobelcos have all the safety features and mod cons, but not so much it’s interrupting what they’re there to do – dig holes.”
He’s quick to point out that he does appreciate a certain level of smart, useful tech. “I sat in the Cat digger at the show, and everything’s electric. I do appreciate the innovation direction they’re going in, but for me, it takes the fun out of an excavator. Kobelco has that balance right. You’ve got two camera views on your screen, which you can manipulate however you want. You can set it up with whatever view you need – left side, right side, or behind you. That’s tech that’s not getting too out of hand. I appreciate innovation, but for what I do, it’s often more mucking around than it’s worth. And when everything’s electric, you’re only having electrical problems. The usability can suffer. “
Hart Civil boasts five main machines these days. “I’ve got two Yanmars, 1.7T and a 10T. A 2021 Kobelco 14T, SK135-7 which is a knuckle boom . And I’ve got a 2021 Kobelco 24T, SK230 -5 – which is also a zero swing,” Trent says. “Then I’ve got the zero swing 2024 SK380 -7 38T Kobelco, as well. We do a lot of road frontage drainage which means we’re often working in short, tight areas. So, it made sense for us to get zero swing machines.”
Trent also appreciates how easy the gear is to look after. “Especially when you’ve got an array of operators getting in machines – some people aren’t as cautious as others,” he says. “We try to take pride in our machines. We service and grease them regularly and make sure they look as new as are. The way we see it is, you’re spending all the money on it, and it’s making you money, so you need to look after it.”
Presentation counts for a lot with customers, too. “It speaks volumes about how you work,” Trent explains. “If you’ve got a rough machine, people think you’re not careful. It’s as simple as ironing your shirt. If you go for an interview and haven’t taken the time to look smart, you’re obviously not serious. I take the same approach with the machines. They’re all neat and tidy. They’ve all been sign written. I think it’s a must.”
It’s Sydney Trucks and Machinery (STM) who look after Trent for all his machine purchases. “I usually deal with Mark Morris there,” he says. “I bought my first machine off an ex-TRN mate who had moved over to STM. He’d done a lot of Kobelco promo videos for them. So, he recommended them highly and talked me into it. Then, after 12 months, he’d moved on from STM to take a different role and all his sales calls were getting diverted to Mark, so I ended up building a great relationship with him.”
Trent says it’s the service that sets STM apart. “They take care of everything, which makes the buying process so easy,” he says. “Mark goes out of his way to help me. You’d think, given his position, he’d hand it down to someone else, but he always takes my phone calls. And they’ve got everything you can think of on hand at STM. So, they’re quick with response times. They talk to you like you’re family and that’s what you want.”
The newest machine in the fleet, the Kobelco SK380 -7, hasn’t been in his yard for long, but Trent’s already a fan. “It’s sensational,” he says. “Same as all their machines. They do all have their own traits – the big one’s got the power, the 14T has the knuckle for digging in tight spaces and whatnot. And the 23T are good all-rounders. But from machine to machine, they all operate as good as each other. That’s what I love about Kobelcos. They’re consistent. It doesn’t matter what year or size you’re buying, they’re very user friendly and have all the creature comforts. They’re unreal. Can’t fault them.”
Maintenance wise, Trent handles a lot of it in-house. “We’ve got a great mechanic I’ve been using since I started – he worked for Komatsu for 15 years, so he’s very experienced,” he says. “And the Kobelcos are intuitive. Soon as you open the doors, everything’s in front of your face. It’s all accessible – your filters, your air, everything. But that said, I would have no issue with using STM for maintenance if we needed to. And anything that’s warranty, they’re straight out there sorting it out. No dramas in that aspect.”
For attachments, Trent sticks with what he knows is tried and true. “I generally use Tiger, because that’s what I got with my first Yanmar,” he says. “They’ve been good buckets. I haven’t had any dramas. The 10-ton has 4,000 hours on it, and I’ve probably only changed the teeth twice. And hitches – the 23T has an A2 on it and I’ve got a swivel hitch that came with that machine. Everything else has Doherty on it. They’re so good – quick release, reliable, no issues with cylinders leaking or anything like that. Nothing jams or breaks. They’re amazing.”
But even with all this talk of machines, it’s clear the beating Hart (pardon the pun) behind the business truly is the people. Something Trent doesn’t take for granted. “Obviously, we’re all family and close knit, so I like to look after the guys,” he shares. “If it’s getting up in the thirties in the heat and it’s around three o’clock, we’re going home. In a lot of big companies you’re sort of just a number. I try not to be like that. I treat them as I would like to be treated. There’s no point in having machines if you can’t keep blokes to put in them. My guys all work hard, they all have a go, and everybody sort of gels with each other. It’s pretty cruisy, and I like that.”
There’s no doubt Hart Civil is a family business, and the clue is right there in the name. “It’s an acronym – the first initial of both my daughters, mine, and my wife’s names. So, it’s Harper, Airlie, Rachel and Trent. My wife came up with it, so I couldn’t really say no,” Trent laughs.
Of course, his girls, including newest addition, Saidie, are a great motivator for achieving steady growth for the future. Indeed, one of Trent’s daughters is already showing a keen interest in the machines. “Airlie loves them. We keep the 1.7T on a trailer in the driveway, and she’s always in and out of it. Any work I do at home on the machine, she’s the first one to come jump on,” he smiles. “She said the sweetest thing one night at the dinner table ‘I can’t wait until I’m older so I can go to work and get on the digger, so dad doesn’t have to’. That made my heart melt. And I think it might well be the path she’s going to take. She’s a rough and tumble kid – not afraid to get hurt or get dirty.”
So far, Trent says growing the business has mainly come down to maintaining a great reputation. “At this stage, it’s all come to us through people I’ve met in the industry,” he says. “It’s word of mouth – you do good work, and you get good references. So, we try and do the best job we can in a timely manner as cost effectively as we can. People appreciate that. We don’t really advertise at all. We’ve got a Facebook page but that’s about it.”
He’s also keen to acknowledge the people who’ve giving him a leg up along the way. “No one builds a career or a business alone,” he shares. “I’ve got plenty of people to thank – Elton Chetcuti from Chetcuti plant hire, Mick Bray from MJ and Sons, Gary Ashton from the TRN Group – and that’s just to name a few”
Trent also feels that, despite his broad experience, finding a niche in the market has made building a name for himself a little easier. “We mainly do stormwater drainage,” he explains. “There were a few big companies that did it for a lot of years, But they’ve since taken different routes, now. So, that opened the door for some of us smaller companies to have a bit of a go.”
In terms of the future, Trent does see a natural next step. “It’d be good to get to the stage where we’re doing our own subdivisions. That would be ideal. But we’re taking baby steps at the moment,” he shares. “For now, we’ll just keep saving our pennies to get the capital up. It’s going to take a bit of doing to get there, but that is the dream.”
Well, with Trent’s give it a crack attitude, and unswerving family support, we’ve no doubt he’ll get there.
