Gunning for excellence

Out at Swanbank in the city of Ipswich, Queensland, the Komatsu machines are roaring away, excavating one million cubic metres of soil and around 500,000 m3 of material to be processed for reuse.

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The project, involving a private landfill owned and operated by REMONDIS Australia, requires the supply and installation of more than 80,000m2 of clay, geosynthetic clay liners, HDPE geomembrane, protection geotextiles and drainage systems, making the task one of the largest such undertakings in recent times in the state.

The contractor charged with the job is Swanbank-based Gunne Civil Constructions, which predominantly works within SE Queensland, performing major civil works for state and local governments along with private companies.

Managing Director Leon Gibb spoke with Earthmoving Equipment Magazine about the company, and why he only trusted one particular brand of excavator for the large range of complex projects that the business carries out.

"Our expertise covers a broad range of disciplines, including landfill construction, facility management, urban and government developments, and commercial infrastructure," he said.

The company's been around since 1988, when it started out as a small civil business - formed by Leon's father Noel and Michael Dunne - to service local builders and developers.

"Gunne Civil director Adam Stafford and myself took over in 2009 and restructured it to the company we know today," Leon said.

Since then, the list of projects that the contractor has been involved with has been many, varied and impressive.

They include a new parts and innovations building for Komatsu at Wacol; construction and demolition jobs at RAAF Amberley; field training area road fire trail works for the Kododa Barracks at Canungra; various Queensland school projects; waste management facility transfer station construction for the Maranoa Regional Council; and industrial developments at the Swanbank Business Park.