Pelicat Oy, a versatile civil engineering company, is well accustomed to the challenges of its industry. When the volume and pace of work is impossible to predict, reliable partners and ready-to-work products that perform without fail are invaluable. Pelicat Oy's latest addition to its fleet is the Normet Xrock XB18 hammer, which clocked up a solid 30 hours of hard work in its very first week on site – and the pace shows no signs of slowing down on this long-term project.
"Like playing an accordion," says Pelicat Oy's owner Janne Åman, describing the civil engineering industry. Åman's company, Pelicat, is a modern operator whose strengths lie in rapid responsiveness, flexibility across projects, and the ability to serve a wide range of civil engineering works – both large and small. Good planning helps in the midst of change, but the true success stories in the industry are those who evolve with the changing world.
One of the challenging elements of civil engineering work is the variability of the ground conditions. Despite ground surveys, it is difficult to get a complete picture of what lies beneath the surface on large plots. A company responsible for civil engineering must be capable of carrying out the groundwork – whatever the soil conditions may be.
"In southern Finland, and especially along the coast, the ground is often quite muddy, but practically anything can turn up underground. If you run into bedrock, you need real power from your hammer for breaking up rock after blasting and removing rock peaks," Åman explains.
The need for a new addition to the fleet became pressing for Pelicat recently, when a requirement for a reliable hydraulic hammer arose at a long-term job site at the turn of the year. The previous hammer had reached the end of its life, and the search was on for a new one that – in addition to the right dimensions for the job – offered effective breaking power and fast delivery. In terms of size, Pelicat chose a so-called "mid-range" hammer that fits two of the company's different base machines, allowing the hammer to be used versatilely.
"The main tasks for this hammer include, for example, breaking up old concrete foundations and, like now in winter, breaking up frost. The hammer sees an average of 20–30 working hours per week, so it needs to have both power and durability," says Åman.
Marakon was a new acquaintance for Pelicat as a company, apart from one familiar salesperson. From the first phone call to that familiar contact, the process moved quickly from order to delivery in response to the urgent need. The hammer was delivered to the job site ready to strike in less than a week from the order – only the couplings were sourced from a local dealer before work could begin.
"Buying the hammer and getting it delivered went really smoothly – communication with Marakon works excellently. It was four days from the order confirmation before we had the hammer on site. We only had to pick up the couplings from a local dealer, and we started work straight away," says Åman.
Based on the first few weeks of use, Pelicat has been satisfied with the purchase. The XB18 hammer has performed as expected even in the depths of winter. Åman is pleased with the hammer's power and controllability. For precision breaking work, such as breaking frost close to cables, the Normet Xrock XB18 has proven to work very well.
"This new hammer really hits hard. It's the right size for two machines, and it sees most of its use on our tracked machine. The XB18 is a high-frequency, hydraulically precise hammer, and you can gradually build up its striking speed in line with the pedal. For frost breaking, for example, it has worked really well," says Åman.
Now, after a few weeks of use, satisfaction with the hammer has not been limited to Pelicat's own job site.
