Knights Construction does a lot of concrete floors for factories and warehouses and, increasingly, for farms – including cattle and poultry sheds and vegetable stores.
Contracts manager Danny Bradshaw says: “We have always aimed to push boundaries in the industry. We helped to implement the original laser controlled dozers 10 years ago for example. But I believe the arrival of the new Bobcat T770 tracked loader and laser grader is an epic moment for our business, allowing us to offer the most technologically advanced machinery within the concrete industry.
“We originally made our name in the industrial sector, but the laser grader system from Bobcat has provided an elegant solution as we take on much more work in the agricultural sector, combining compact dimensions for the low headroom work in this area with the power and productivity we need to keep ahead of our concrete laying teams, preparing surfaces of over 3000 m2 in area to the +/-4mm tolerances required for concrete to be laid. This allows us to complete jobs in just 6-8 hours and save on costs for labour and materials as less concrete needs to be laid to achieve the required finish.”
Mounted using the Bob-Tach attachment mounting system, the new 274 cm Bobcat grader with Laser Mounting Kit and Laser Receivers on the new T770 loader has a six-way blade plus hydraulic side-shift of up to 33 cm left or right. These are both fingertip-controlled so that the operator can grade without taking their hands off the control levers. There are four two-way hydraulic functions including left side up/down; right side up/down; blade rotation left/right and blade side shift left/right.
The hydraulic side-shift allows the blade to get further into corners when working in confined areas. It also allows grading right up to an obstacle (such as a pole or structure inside a building), side-shifting to get around it and then side-shifting back to continue to work. This minimises hand labour to clear the area around these objects.
Switching over to the Bobcat six-way dozer blade attachment, the T770 loader can move or push material like a mini-dozer. The dozer attachment has a six-way adjustable blade with electric-over-hydraulic controls and a reversible three-piece cutting edge.
Danny Bradshaw adds: “The other Bobcat attachments are all part of the process we use at Knights Construction. The scarifier is an excellent tool for removing the protective wearing courses we add during soil stabilisation work. With its heavy-duty cutting-edges and strong cylinders, the combination bucket is a multi-purpose attachment which can take on a variety of tough tasks and we use the pallet forks attachment to unload equipment and materials from our trucks with the T770.”
