“If everybody was as easy to deal with as Marcus, my life would be a whole lot easier!” says Ertech’s Plant Hire co-ordinator Michael Hill. “Nothing is ever too hard for Marcus. He jumps straight onto things and gets the job done. He has continually gone over and above to provide a great service to Ertech, whenever needed. If we have any issues or parts required, Marcus organises it quickly and efficiently with minimal downtime.”

At KEE, we always strive to Keep Exceeding Expectations, and this is why we are so proud of our Maintenance Co-ordinator Marcus Webb.

Originally from Whangārei in New Zealand, Marcus and his family moved to Perth when he was six. His first impression of Perth was the lack of crocs! As a child he had the impression that Australia would be full of the man-eating critters.

His father, who sadly passed away in 2013, was very inspirational. “He just taught me to get on with it,” said the 44-year-old, “through good times and hard times, just to keep going,” he said, “and Dad told me to always look after those who are around you.”

As a child, Marcus wasn’t fond of school, but he had a good coach who helped him with rugby league and he ended up playing fullback/ centre for nearly ten years.

One thing many may not know about Marcus is that he likes to box. To those of you who know him, he has a mild-mannered temperament but put him in the ring and you’ll see a different side. He once even competed in front of a thousand people at a charity event at the Crown Pyramid in Burswood. “I was put in the heavy-weight category, and I had to eat as much as possible for a month beforehand.” He had to weigh in above 95kg, but when he was training, he kept slipping down to 93kg. “At one stage I was eating two chickens a day just to put enough weight on for the fight!” On the day of the weigh-in, he ate one and a half chickens and drank four litres of water. “Just before I stepped on the scales, I filled my pockets with coins in the hope I would make the required weight,” he confessed, “and it worked!”

Over his career, Marcus has worked for various companies, all within the large plant industry. He has been a purchasing/ store co-ordinator for SVA, Thyssenkrupp and Schenck Process and he started in the KEE Group workshop four years ago. Marcus starts at 6.30am every day, and his tasks include processing off-hire reports and charges, raising workshop jobs, liaising with customers and contractors to arrange on-site repairs, purchasing of parts and supporting KGNC with warranty claims and purchasing. It’s a big job and it needs someone with a calm, stoic personality. If he takes the finger off the pulse, it means the flow in the workshop will stall.

“I believe the best practise is to always keep it real,” he said, “there’s no point in sugar-coating things, it’s best to be honest and direct so the client knows all the information upfront”. His top tip in working for the industry; “Be patient and look after your customers”.

Marcus has one son; Chace, 12, and two daughters; Ella, 9 and Georgia who is 2. His favourite holiday destination is Northern Ireland, where he loves to visit family and friends.

words and pictures by © Katharyn Quinn

KEE On-Hire Manager Natalie Martin tells of her intrepid adventure to South Africa with KEE Maintenance Manager Mitchell White.

“Mitch and I flew over to visit the BELL HQ in South Africa. We were the lucky two who had been chosen for the mission, with thanks to KEE, Dale Smulders, Sales Representative, CE Equipment and Hitachi Construction Machinery Australia.

We landed in Johannesburg and met up with fellow industry professionals from Australia and New Zealand. Todd Alexander, National After-Sales Manager and Raj Singh, Customer Relations Facilitator (from Bell SA) greeted us at the hotel and we headed out for dinner to get to know the rest of the group.

The first morning we paid a visit to the BELL Logistics Centre in Johannesburg. The centre was huge and full to the brim with parts and oils for all the BELL Equipment, along with some pretty impressive packing machines.

We then caught a one-hour flight to Durban to the BELL Farm in Richards Bay. There, we were met by Warren Swart, OEM Product Manager, Jerremiah Mokhomo, OEM Product Marketing Manager and Llewellyn Roux, Product Marketing Manager who explained the latest technology and updates which focus on safety and cost efficiencies. These included; automatic daily check, automatic park brake and hill assist.

After test-driving the new BELL B45E ADT we headed off to the factory to learn more about the family and their company and after lunch, we were given a full factory tour. Well, what can I say? Wow, the BELL factory is very impressive. The field service unit they use for remote breakdowns is a helicopter! Mitch was slightly jealous. The factory builds an impressive 30 ADT’s per week from start to finish. Each machine is put through vigorous safety checks and once the team is satisfied, they are signed off and shipped to their customers, wherever in the world they may be.

It was very exciting to be there and see in person one of the next KEE B45 ADT and B45 AWT off the production line. Once fully tested it will be ready and shipped over to Hitachi in Forrestdale, ready for delivery to KEE Hire Welshpool (hopefully, this side of Christmas). We cannot wait!

After the tour, we headed to St Lucia, South Africa’s first UNESCO World Heritage site famed for the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. There, we were treated to a two-hour guided hippo and croc cruise and then we were whisked off to Bayala Private Game Lodge for the Sunset Safari.

Before the start of the safari, the importance of not disturbing the animals for our own safety was drilled into us:

• Stay in the truck
• Keep still
• Do not spend too much time at a sighting

On our tour, however, all three were quickly thrown out of the window when the truck we were in blew a tyre in the middle of the game reserve. We only had 30 minutes left of daylight and the enormity of the danger we found ourselves in only became apparent when the tour driver could not fix the wheel.

I was asked to “keep look-out”. I’m not sure what I was looking out for as the animals are notorious for their cunning camouflage and I am half-blind at the best of times! However, after persuading the driver (who was taking far too long), that perhaps utilising the skills of the six fitters sitting in the truck would be a better idea, he eventually agreed and the gents jumped out to help.

As the men lifted the entire truck (with me in it) off the ground, I kept watch. It was, at that moment, that I felt the lives of my six associates fall heavily into my hands. I had been charged with looking out for man-eating predators while everyone else was doing the three things we had been explicitly told not to do!

Once the tyre was fixed, we pulled away and our driver Brian, located the lions. Brian wanted to get us there by the shortest route possible, by going up a track that he said he swore “he would never take again”. So in ‘Nat style’ I asked him why are we taking it then? We found the lions, with one tyre

off the ground. One of the group stood up to try and balance the weight and just as Dale yelled “sit down” Mitch was hit in the back of head with a tree branch. It really was a comedy of errors!

As frightening yet funny as this experience was, looking back, it was one of those moments that I will treasure.

Mitch and I are so thankful to the entire BELL team. Their interest, kindness and hospitality shown to us throughout the trip were faultless. This was certainly a trip neither of us will ever forget.”

Our profiling crews have received excellent feedback about their work at Gingin RAAF Airbase, WA. Fulton Hogan’s Senior Project Engineer, Andrew Bartel said: “KEE Surfacing has made the project experience seamless. I found the crew to be exceptionally hard-working and easy to communicate with. I was particularly impressed with Leading Foreman Mitch Hobday’s (pictured) work ethic. He was early to site every day and his crew fully briefed and prepared for the task ahead.”

Andrew continued, “The KEE Profiling team really helped us out of a major bind.”

If you have surfacing requirements, KEE Surfacing are here to help. We provide asphalt, profiling, spray seal and base course services that have a demonstrated capacity of delivering the largest projects. and of course, we the best crews in town! Contact our KEE Surfacing Manager Bumpy Samuel on 086401 8500 or 0487 178 352