Kennards takes the ‘hard’ out of grind

A new, single head, heavy duty 240V concrete grinder introduced by Kennards Hire is creating a good impression – from the city to the outback.

It attaches to a special, high-performance industrial vacuum unit, resulting in an almost dust free environment for grinding, polishing, levelling, cleaning, stripping, coatings and glue removal and resurfacing.

The grinders have been introduced across the Kennards Hire branch network after proving popular with Kennards Concrete Care customers.

Nigel Garlick, owner of mechanical repairs firm Car Pro Automatic at Castle Hill in Sydney, wanted to grind the floor of his workshop back to the bare concrete before repainting it, but remembered the job “taking forever” the previous time he did it with a smaller grinder.

When he saw the new unit at Kennards Hire Kellyville, he decided to “give it a go” – and was glad he did. “It’s great – smooth, very easy to use, highly productive, and the vacuum is fantastic,” Nigel said.

Wayne Pratt, operations manager in Alice Springs for Murray River North, which constructs homes, police stations, schools and other facilities from transportable buildings in remote areas, also praised the machine.

One of his crews was constructing a new duplex for schoolteachers at Pipalyatjara, 200km southwest of Uluru, when rain ruined the newly poured concrete verandah.

“It’s so hard doing concrete in the bush,” Wayne said. “We had to grind the slab back and resurface it.

“We were very happy with the grinder we hired from Kennards in Alice Springs. “It really rips in, which is what you want when you need to get it out there and back in the shortest possible time.”

Chris Turner, works foreman for Victoria’s Basement homeware and giftware stores, is well aware of its capabilities having hired it, along with other concrete surfacing equipment, from Kennards Concrete Care for several refurbishments.

“It’s exactly what we require,” Chris said. “We grind the concrete back to expose the aggregate and then seal it.” “We always use Kennards because their equipment is good and the service is excellent.”

The grinder is the most powerful in the 240V class, with a high production rate and ability to flatten out undulations. It will also grind floors with a concave/convex surface perfectly with no ridges or gouging.

The cyclonic vacuum attachment has HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filtration that maintains suction with fine dust.

Kennards Hire also has 240V concrete mowers, planers and renovators for preparing concrete surfaces.

A more extensive range, including 415V single head, double head and four head grinders, is available from Kennards Concrete Care, which has just opened a second Sydney hire centre at Moorebank and also has outlets in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.