KASZBUILT CONSTRUCTIONS FINDS FREEDOM WITH ISUZU TIPPER

Waterfront homes and weatherboard houses are staples of the Sutherland Shire in New South Wales, and these sometimes multi-million-dollar dwellings just so happen to be the bread and butter of Kaszbuilt Constructions’ repertoire. But for Ben Kasznik (Director of Kaszbuilt) and his team—with Isuzu’s NPR 45-155 Tipper on call—constructing new homes isn’t just about paying the bills, it’s also a way to build something lasting for their local community.

“We love doing the renovating, extensions and top floors on residential buildings,” said Ben. “We get to see old, beaten-up homes go through a transformation from start to finish, and at the end have something amazing to show for it.

“It’s a really good feeling, gives us pride in our work… and seeing the family and their excitement too, it’s a great part of the job.”

Like most success stories, Ben started small and dreamed big, but he’s careful to explain it hasn’t always been sunshine and sandy beaches. Seven years ago, after a previous partnership turned sour, Ben struck out on his own under the banner Kaszbuilt Constructions. He started out with smaller jobs, growing his team slowly along the way.

Now, with four full-time employees and regular six-figure projects rolling in, it looks like this steady-as-she-goes approach has paid off in full. And as a savvy business owner, Ben is always on the hunt for ways to save money and boost productivity around the worksite. The idea of adding a truck to the offering was in the back of his mind for a few years but was always pushed to the side with other pressing concerns.

Last year, the stars finally aligned; the Federal Government announced the capital investment instant asset write-off and at the same time, Ben realised just how much he was spending on skip bins per year… an eye-watering $40,000.

“I was always looking up different trucks and reading about them, but never doing anything about it,” Ben said. “There were really two factors that drove me to buy it nine months ago—I was spending a lot of money on skip bins for site rubbish removal and the government incentive kicked in.

“I remember thinking, ‘Well what else has to happen here, for me to think it’s the right time to buy?’” All it took was a quick call into Suttons Trucks at Arncliffe, and Ben came away with a brand new NPR 45-155 Tipper.

Adding some extra sauce to his new work truck, he added an aluminium toolbox between the cab and body, H-bar racks for carting long materials and a rollout canopy that covers the entire tipper tray. For the finishing touches: tinted windows and electric blue and black Kaszbuilt signage across the truck.

“I don’t know why it took me so long to do it,” Ben lamented. “The number of compliments it gets from people in the local industry or just random people, whether it’s at the shops or in the carpark… even the guys at the tip say, “That truck looks too good to come in here!’”

Ben noted the biggest benefit the NPR Tipper delivers is the freedom to use it for anything the team needs—the truck’s eight-tonne GCM easily handling jobs they just couldn’t do with a ute—and wholly replacing that expensive skip bin hire.

With an all-steel body construction and volume of 2.3 m³, drop sides, auto-release tailgate and auto-release body lockdown hook, loading and unloading is no trouble with the NPR Tipper, whether it’s carting site rubbish or construction materials. A shovel rack and rope rails on both sides also help secure things neatly away. And classed at the 4.5-tonne GVM mark, the Tipper can be driven on a standard car license, allowing Kaszbuilt to do more of the work themselves and reducing the need for third-party contractors.

“We can do rubbish removal, deliveries, pickups, everything with the Tipper, we’re no longer dependent on other people or other companies to get things done,” Ben said.

“On my last few jobs, I’ve loaded the truck, driven it straight up the road to the tip and brought it back on site within half an hour, instead of coordinating skip bins and waiting a day or two for those to be filled and emptied."

“This Tipper is just making our life easier at work,” he continued. “Our workload has even ramped up since we’ve had it because we’re saving time."

“You get independence, you get better productivity, and you get major cost savings with a truck on hand. “And best thing? This new truck was tax deductible!” Ben finished with a grin.