Queensland-based G&H Civil Contractors has taken delivery of the first of two Scania 8×4 concrete agitators powered by the newly launched Super 11 powertrain, giving the contractor greater control over concrete supply to its piling operations.
The trucks are the first Scania agitators delivered to Australian customers since the arrival of the Super 11 engine and will initially support G&H Civil’s continuous flight auger (CFA) piling operations in Southport, south-east Queensland.
For G&H Civil, the decision to bring concrete transport in-house is primarily about productivity and uptime rather than simply adding another truck type to the fleet.
CFA piling requires a continuous supply of concrete, making delays in truck arrivals a potential bottleneck for the entire operation.
“G&H has purchased its own concrete agitators to keep our continuous flight auger piling rigs supplied with concrete throughout the day,” G&H Civil Contractors Systems and Compliance Manager Edel Waters said.
“CFA piling relies on a constant supply of concrete, so any delays can slow down the job. By having our own agitators, we can deliver concrete to our rigs when it’s needed, without relying on outside suppliers.
“This helps keep our rigs working, reduces downtime, and allows us to get more work done each day while staying in control of our own schedule.”
Bringing another critical task in-house
Founded by Padraig Haskins and Noel Grealish in 2010, G&H Civil has expanded from plant hire into a broad range of civil construction activities including demolition, basement retention and piling, bulk earthworks and civil engineering.
The company now employs around 170 people and works across commercial, industrial, mining and resources, defence and public infrastructure projects around Australia.
Waters said greater control of the construction process was a major reason for investing in the agitators.
“We want to control the full process we’re involved with, so it makes sense to have our own concrete trucks because a lot of the time we find that it’s not supply, it is getting the trucks to site on time that gives us headaches,” she said.
“Now we have our own trucks, we can keep our piling rig fed for the day.”
The purchase also extends an existing relationship between G&H Civil and Scania, with the contractor already operating the brand in tipper and dog combinations as well as side and end-tipper applications.
“We have had Scanias for tipper and dog sets, and side and end-tippers, and when we decided we needed our own agitators we went to Scania,” Waters said.
“They had vehicles available which was very helpful.”
Super 11 targets demanding agitator work
Scania says the new 11-litre engine is well suited to agitator applications, combining lower weight and fuel consumption with sufficient power for the demands placed on the truck by the concrete mixer’s power take-off system.
“The timing for G&H was very fortuitous as we have just launched the new 11-litre which is ideal for agitator work,” Scania Queensland Account Manager Kevin Macdonald said.
“We have been selling Scanias to the company for a while and when they asked about agitators, we knew we had the right truck for their needs.
“Not only will they be benefiting from reduced fuel burn, but the new 11-litre is perfectly powerful enough to handle the PTO stress and strain an agitator demands.”
The Scania 8×4 configuration also brings extended service intervals, while the manufacturer says the Super 11 powertrain has been engineered for a longer working life than the five-cylinder 9-litre engine it replaces in these applications.
Safety and driver comfort are also part of the specification, with Scania highlighting the truck’s steel cab, low entry height, visibility, roll stiffness and suite of advanced driver assistance systems.
Macdonald said the standard side-curtain rollover airbags add another layer of protection for drivers working in an application where vehicle stability is particularly important.
“The Scania agitator will be a joy to drive and with outstanding roll-stiffness, very safe, but with our standard side curtain rollover airbags, you’ve got the highest level of safety protection in any truck,” he said.
For G&H Civil, however, the strongest business case comes back to keeping the job moving. Owning the agitators gives the company direct control over one of the critical links in its piling workflow — helping ensure concrete arrives when the rig needs it and reducing the risk of costly downtime.
