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.

Anything that flourishes in the Australia’s Pilbara Regionmust, by definition, be built tough. Dry and dusty, with regular daily temps of over 40 degrees, it’s literally a case of “if you can’t stand the heat…” So, it’s no surprise that Fitzgerald Civil, a small but mighty contracting business, was forged in those fires. Even less surprising, they’ve built their business around Volvo, one of the toughest machines on the market.

Of course, it was a long road that brought Kieren Fitzgerald to the Pilbara all the way from his dad’s earthmoving business in Ireland. “I grew up between the track pedals and the side of the cab,” he laughs. “It was in an old Hymac back in the day, A 141C. So, I learned on that machine. Then we moved on to a Hyundai because they were the local dealer beside us. Tothis day, my father still drives a Hyundai.”

Gripped by a sense of adventure – and the promise of better weather – Kieren’s travels brought him to Australia back in 2012. “I did the whole tour – Sydney, Brisbane, and back to Perth,” he recalls. “It started as a working holiday. But I could see there was a steady flow of work. So, in 2016, I had the idea to go out and buy my first excavator.”

Knowing civil work was in such high demand meant staying in Australia, even somewhere as unfamiliar as the Pilbara, was easier than you might imagine. “Well, I mean, I was there already,” Kieren laughs. “I made a few contacts at the start. One job would take you to another. And, slowly but surely, it built up more and more. So, that was our bread and butter for the first four or five years.”

Of course, building a business in this part of Australia takes an iron stomach and even tougher gear. “There’s lots of challenges,” Kieren shares. “There could be salt marshes about – track into one of those, and you’d never be seen again. Or peaks of sheer rock you’re trying to climb, and the machine doesn’t want to be up there. Most days, it’s well over 40 degrees. And it’s a production environment. So, the machines can be running flat out in 50-degree heat. That’s a test of any machine.”

The balance of comfort and reliability led Kieren to go with Volvo for his first purchase. “It was a Volvo EC300DL,” he says. “I have always liked Volvo. Working across all those civil jobs during my early days in Australia, I operated many different machines.and whenever a Volvo was on site, it was always highly regarded for comfort. Being in there 13 hours a day, you want a nice air con and a good cab.Then , when I was purchasing, I started to think about reliability,backup and parts. In the end, thinking over all the different machines I had driven, Volvo was, by far, the best I ever sat in.”

Being higher end, Kieren says the build quality makes Volvos uniquely suited to life in the Pilbara. “A lot of other machines fail due to the heat,” he explains. “They fail with belts, hoses, all the rubber components, the cooling systems – they just can’t handle it.  I’ve never seen the temp gauge go even above the halfway mark with a Volvo. All the other machines start running three quarters during the summer. And more pressure on the engine. But Volvo absolutely it nailed for this kind of work.”

It was the team at CJD that facilitated that first purchase. “They steered me in the right direction,” Kieren says. “They did all the right things. Showed me through the machine and talked me through the process of their parts and  service process. So, I did like the comfort of having that backup.

The team’s product knowledge and understanding of Kieren’s unique needs added  significant value. “If I was doing, say, normal house sites, I could see how people might compare the price with lower-end gear and say, ‘Volvo is so much more,’” Kieren says. “But it isn’t the case once you work it all out. Working with Anthony Brown at CJD, he beats all the competitors whenever he comes back with quotes.I’ve gotten what you’d regard as a higher class of machine for the same price as any other. So, that’s definitely the way to go.”

Indeed, focusing on value means doing your sums with more than just the sticker price in mind. “It does factor in there, but the need for reliability pushes it lower down on the list,” Kieren explains. “ WhenI looked at it early on, I realised a typical repair in the Pilbara could cost $10,000 for a small repair by the time you get someone up there. Do that six times a year, and there’s $60,000. So it is better to pay a little more,as is enjoy the comfort and lack of downtime. It was just a better way to go.”

With that first machine under his belt, Kieren built his fleet as he built up his client base. “It’s the usual story. You’ve got one, and then suddenly, there was demand for more,” he says. “So, we slowly bought up mainly all second-hand units to start. But because there was a bit of a boom then, the demand for machines was high. So, working with CJD, Anthony sourced me a few machines from out east, and helped us get them on site and everything like that. So, it worked very well.”

The next phase saw Kieren begin to swap out the second-hand gear for new machines. “We have that ability now,” he says. “And the market has moved on. The expectation is for newer gear- high-end stuff. You’ll arrive at a job and have a top-notch machine ready to go and last the length of the project.. Breakdowns are very much frowned upon now. And, honestly, finance repayments are cheaper than repairs, so that’s why we’re going down that road.”

Acknowledging that everyone’s circumstances dictate what they can buy, Kieren feels you can’t go wrong with Volvo. “One of our machines in the Pilbara, a EC300DL, has 24,000 hours on it. And that’s 24,000 ‘Pilbara hours’ – in the heat and rough terrain. We took it into CJD for service and a spruce-up at 11,000 hours. And even in the yard in CJD, the force fitter thought it was like a 2000-hour machine. It’s a testament to what they can do.  And it’s still ticking over. That’s proof in the pudding.”

Amongst the 12 machines in the Fitzgerald Civil yard, the new Volvo E-Series has stolen Kieren’s heart. “The EC300E was one of the first new ones we got,” he says. “It’s just trouble-free motoring. And it’s got everything I need – the heightened slew restrictors and that Volvo weigh-in system. Going back to the value discussion, if you put the load right on it and put the heightened slew restrictions on it, you’ve gone way past the purchase price of this machine. It’s the best machine I’ve ever sat in.”

Indeed, Kieren says technology is moving speedily. “10 years ago, even GPS was an additional feature on most machines. And it still is, but now it’s required,” he says. “But all that other stuff is coming in for the loading systems, the weigh-in scales, everything like that for chain responsibility, your safety features, your cameras – everything like that is expected now on jobs. We’realso moving into the era of tilt rotators to be able to increase productivity and make the job easier. So, yeah, it’s moving quickly.”

Fortunately, he finds it all quite intuitive to use. “It’s verystraightforward ,” he says. “One display for the actual machine controls and monitoring dials. So, there are not tenscreens in the cab, which is great. And it’s all set up by Volvo, by CJD. So, when you get the machine, they take you in for a day and do three or four hours of  familiarisation through the whole system. It’s so easy to use.”

In terms of attachments, Kieren rates Engcon. “We’ve got the Engcon EC300D Tiltrotator. I bought it overseas – I wasn’t quite confident enough to go all newbecause of the price tag on them. But I can see their value now,” he shares. “We ended up retrofitting this one to this machine. Normally, it comes with all the controllers, but we retrofitted it to work with the Volvo control. Brad in CJD set it up for us on the GPS and everything like that. He did say he was pulling his hair out for a day or two, but he eventually got it down to within ten mil. That’s dedication. We’ve also got the smaller Engcon S60 on the Volvo EW60E. That’s the future, I think. They’ve been out in Sweden for 20-plus years. But the rest of us are only just catching on.”

There are a few other new purchases in the fleet. “We just took two EC300Ds – they’ve gone to the Pilbara. And there’s a EC235E waiting in the yard that we’re prepping now. So, that’ll be coming down here for the Bunbury Ring Road for all the offcuts, drains, and tidy-up work . And, again, we need that guarantee, the chain responsibility, that it will be able to weigh the tonnage before it loads it.”

Kieren feels his relationship with CJD is more like a partnership that goes beyond just sales. “It benefits us,” he shares. “I’ve dealt with Anthony since day one. And, as you can imagine, I didn’t know what I was doing. I knew I wanted a Volvo, but that was about it. He guided me down the path, all the finance routes, everything like that. And he kept in touch to ensure everything was going along all right. That’s been really good for us. It’s great to know they don’t just sell you a machine and say, ‘See you when you come back for the next one.’ There’s always constant communication to see if everything’s okay.

CJD’s ability to provide service and support has proven to be another big draw. “I won’t forget the first machine – I did a fan belt about three months into the job, and it was on a Saturday evening,” Kieren recalls. “I rang the parts department in Perth, and by Sunday, I had a fan belt in my hand. To me, that’s exceptional service. And the people don’t change there, so I know all the boys by name, and they know us. They have the full card on their system, so I don’t have to go quoting serial or part numbers. They log in, find it, put it on toll, send it to me, and I have it the next day. It’s so easy with them.”

Right now, Kieren’s in his element, working alongside crews in the Pilbara. “I do love it in Bunbury, for sure. But the Pilbara, when you’re young and going flat out, it’s a great place to be,” he shares. “There’s a great push up there. Some of the best people you’ll ever meet. Then you come down to Bunbury a nice, easy-going place. No stress and no dramas. So it’s the best of both worlds. I’m very happy here at the minute.”

Even in his downtime, Kieren isn’t one to sit still. “I’ll get the John Deere lawnmower out – cut the grass and do all the weekend stuff,” he laughs. “But we also like Perth. And there’s something on most weekends. Even just heading to the beach is lovely. Always good weather. Every day, nice and hot, and you can’t go wrong with that.”

Looking towards the future, after a rushing start, he’s not in any hurry to shake things up. “I like to be on the machines,” Kieren says. “I just have that passion for them. And maybe that will restrict me from growing into a massive company. But that was never the intent, anyway. I’m pretty happy at this size. I’ve got good machines and good guys on them. No dramas. Everyone’s doing a good job. So I think I’ll continue with that and be loving it.”

And there’s nothing wrong with that, now, is there?