Quarter Century Partnership

It is 51 years since Ontario-based Len Corcoran Excavating Ltd first opened its doors. The company started with a single machine – a dozer paid for with the winnings from founder Len Corcoran’s racing car successes. Under the guidance of Len’s son Dan – the current president and owner - the company has grown to some 60 full time seasonal, and 30 part time seasonal workers today.The company’s equipment fleet has also expanded and today comprises 25 items of excavating equipment including 14 excavators of various sizes. The company’s fleet also includes six Rammer hammers:  S27; S29; three G110's; and a newly purchased Rammer 5011.

Failure to Compete
In 1987, the company purchased its first big Rammer hammer; a 1600HD mounted on a 235 Cat excavator that – at the time – was the second largest hydraulic hammer in Canada.“During the purchase process we demonstrated against a competitive hammer,” recalls Dan Corcoran.   “Actually, after seeing the limestone the 1600HD was able to break, the competitor refused to demonstrate their hammer. We have subsequently moved through G100's to G110's with the Rammer Pro variable speed option. We have purchased our three G110's from Van Ed Equipment in Surrey BC. Despite the distance from Ontario to British Columbia, the product support, parts availability and delivery, and technical support has been great.”

That relationship was strengthened still further with the purchase of Canada’s first Rammer 5011 hammer.“We were the successful bidder on a project in Kingston Ontario for storm, sanitary, and water infrastructure replacement that required 9,000 m3 of limestone to be removed without the use of explosives,” Corcoran explains.“The material is all trench rock with depths to six metres and width to four metres. We started the project with our G110's, and quickly concluded we needed some additional power. So we called Van Ed Equipment and took the opportunity to purchase the first BR5011 in Canada.”

Exceeding Expectations
The Rammer 5011 is mounted on a Cat 345B hydraulic excavator and has already exceeded Corcoran’s expectations.“Once pressures and flows were adjusted we quickly noticed a 40 percent increase in productivity over our already effective G110. The 5011 does not stop going into the rock, even where the limestone is hardest,” Dan Corcoran concludes.“We are working in a trench application, so side scaling is inevitable, and the anti-blank feature is a life saver for the hammer and makes our operators more confident and productive. The stroke selector feature has not been used yet because all the rock so far has been very hard. But we look forward to the opportunity to switch and increase the speed of the hammer if the rock softens.”