We chatted to John Field, owner of New Look Civil, about his experience with Hidromek and growing a new business.
“I’ve been in the industry for over 13 years and first started in a panel beating apprenticeship but realised that wasn’t for me. I then worked as a labourer and worked my way up to foreman for a few major projects. After a while I decided I was sick of making everyone else money and went out on my own”.
John started his business New Look Civil about 2 ½ years ago.
“I started off on my own as a sole trader just hot seating between different machines. My different roles have given me a fair few contacts which have been very valuable and New Look Civil grew fairly quickly from the start. I worked on my own for about 6 months and then hired a few guys and we now have 10 staff”.
John’s first machine was a 3 tonne excavator and NLC now have 9 pieces of equipment including excavators, post tracks, rollers etc.
“We have naturally progressed into work such as drainage and bulk excavations and therefore our work now requires more of the bigger type of equipment so we mostly run the 20, 40 and 50 tonne excavators”.
Today we’re out on site with New Look Civil and the ground is rock from top to bottom.
“On site we have two Hidromek HMK370LCs with hammers, one HMK220LC cleaning out and the bigger HMK490LC”.
“I’ve never been a brand person – I want the best suited machine for the job. A friend of mine bought a Hidromek so I went and tried it out and then decided to give it a go”.
“My favourite Hidromek model would have to be the HMK370LC. It’s smooth, it’s quick, it’s powerful. It’s just an all-round fantastic machine”.
“The Hidromeks caught my eye because Turkey is predominantly rock-based so you would figure a machine that is built for those conditions would be suitable machines for the work we do”.
“I think the more people try them the more Hidromeks will be seen around Australia. People who give them a try see what a great machine they are. They are on par if not better than other more known brands”.
“Their point of different is they’re close to unbeatable. They just keep going and the fuel efficiency is fantastic. Where I had to refuel every day with a previous machine, I now only have to refuel every second day doing the same task”.
The new Hidromek H4 Series was released in Australia earlier this year.
“Hidromek have really stepped it up with the new H4-series. The power is the same but they’re more comfortable and more modern with all the new features. They’ve gone from a Holden Commodore to a Rolls Royce in terms of refinement”.
John first started renting Hidromeks through Onetrak Rental.
“Onetrak has been great – there hasn’t been a time that I have called Onetrak and haven’t had the support I needed. They’re always very quick to get out to site if we have a problem – which has only ever been minor”.
Onetrak is offering Rent-To-Buy across their range of machinery which is something New Look Civil has opted for.
“Rent-To-Buy has been great for New Look Civil because as a new company we haven’t been able to get the finance for all the machines we have needed to complete the jobs we have had. The payment plans are great. Onetrak has provided a really good rate and they’ve just been really supportive. They’ve kept our projects moving which has kept us profitable”.
“Our fleet now consists of three Hidromeks. We’re looking to expand again and we will be going with Hidromek in the future. They have not let us down and they just continue to amaze me on a daily basis”.
Finally we asked John what advice he would give to someone who is keen to start their own business.
“Honestly just go out there and give it a go. If you lose and don’t succeed – try again. It’s all a lesson. It’s never a failure. Don’t be afraid to give something a go”.
