Develon excavators make their mark

The benefits of using wheeled excavators can often be underestimated, but not so for a burgeoning civil plant hire company making its mark in the construction sector.

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You have to admire the tenacity of anyone travelling half a world away to start up an earthmoving business.

That's what two brothers - Niall and Edmund Swan - did in 2012, when they moved from Ireland's 40 shades of green to the redder and much drier terrain of Western Australia.

The challenges were many, due to differences in climate, terrain, regulations, and equipment requirements.

The brothers had to adjust to extreme heat, arid landscapes, and vast remote areas, with soil conditions that vary from sandy and loose to hard-packed clay.

It was certainly a far cry from the emerald isle's wetter climate with softer, often peat-rich soil that required different excavation techniques.

"Everything is different here in comparison to the ground conditions for earthworks but you just have to adapt to the environment and overcome any obstacles you face," Niall said.

"And I think that's what makes us stand out as an up and coming business in this sector."

The business Niall refers to is SEP Civil, a company specialising in machine hire services for the construction and mining industries.

"Edmund and I were actually in Australia prior to 2012. We worked at home in the family business from 2004 right up to 2012. We were a turnkey company for the telecommunications industry in Ireland and the UK," he said.

"We built everything form greenfield sites with towers up to 50m high to rooftop jobs in and around cities.

"We struggled to keep it open and eventually in 2012 we had to call it quits and make the move back to Australia.

"Edmund is a carpenter by trade and I've always been facilitated by machines, so after leaving Ireland, Edmund went to Sydney and worked as a formwork carpenter and I came to Perth and went back driving machines."