Kennards Concrete Care  have added 40 new planers, 12 mowers and various air tools and road saws to their fleet of specialist hire equipment for concrete work including surface preparation, repairs and restoration.

The 56 new machines from US supplier, Edco, provide a substantial boost to equipment depth, while also adding a new, improved concrete mower model to the range. They can be hired from Kennards Concrete Care centres in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

As a part of the contract, an Edco equipment expert, Tony Calcopietro, visited Australia specially to train Kennards Concrete Care staff in the use of the new plant, so they could in turn advise hirers on maximising productivity.

The Kennards Group have been buying equipment from Edco since the early 1970s.

On arrival in Australia, more than 40 of the machines were fitted with petrol or electric motors by Crommelins Machinery in Welshpool, Western Australia.

The Kennards Group have also had a long association with Crommelins, and find their motors to be reliable and their service highly efficient.

The 40 new planers include 8 inch and 10 inch models, with a choice of petrol, 240V or 415V. Petrol units are fitted with Subaru 9hp engines.

Self-propelled, 10 inch planers have a 22hp motor, while manual 10 inch machines have a 13.5hp motor and the 8 inch planers a 9hp motor.

The new concrete mowers are a 10 inch model, with an improved drive system, a rounded shroud which enables closer grinding to walls and better dust control through an improved vacuum port.

A Kennards Concrete Care team inspected this machine at the World of Concrete trade show in the US, and concluded it would be ideal for Australian hirers.

Edco says this machine, the TG 10, is four times faster than conventional grinders, and will grind about 35 to 56sqm (400 to 500sqft) per hour to a depth of 1-2mm.

It can operate wet or dry, and the rounded shroud allows grinding to within 12mm of any vertical surface.