Shatfell's zero swing Komatsu PC2281UU-1 excavator, fitted with a specially modified short boom, working with a hydraulic hammer on Sydney 's M5 East road tunnels.

Company Profile

Shantfell was formed in 1985 to provide earthmoving equipment on an hourly hire basis to the civil construction industry, hiring out excavators, backhoe loaders and similar equipment.

During the mid 1990s, Shantfell began increasingly focusing on shaft and tunnel excavation work - developing a reputation for quality work and innovative approaches.

In 1996, the company was invited to tender for excavation of a major shaft installation on Melbourne 's CityLink project - a challenging prospect, given that the shaft was to be 10 m in diameter and 70 m deep.

To meet this challenge, Shantfell modified one of its existing 20 tonne Komatsu PC200 excavators with their own design shortened boom.

The success of this concept enabled them to carry out the excavation - and also saw them pick up other on-going contracts during excavation of the CityLink tunnels.





An important reason for the success of Shantfell's short-boom excavators was their ability to work in one half of a standard road tunnel, allowing trucks and other equipment access on the other side.




Shantfell's time at CityLink and its increasing expertise in underground excavation work also saw it move into the labour hire business for TUNNELLING work. The company provided CityLink with up to 50 men over a seven to 12 month period.

In 1998, Shantfell supplied a number of its short-boom excavators to Sydney 's Eastern Distributor project.

Over the next 18 months, Shantfell carried out much of the detail excavation work in the Eastern Distributor tunnels once the tunnels had been bored - as well as carting excavated material and providing labour hire services.

Also during this period, Shantfell carried out work on Sydney 's Northside Storage Tunnel, a joint venture between Sydney Water and Transfield.

For this project, it provided up to 100 labourers, along with articulated dump trucks and conventional excavators.

The company then moved onto the M5 East Project, which links Sydney Airport with the M5 Freeway at King Georges Road .

Shantfell has been carrying out detail excavation, drainage works and penetrations for the tunnels that form a major part of the project.

For this project, Shantfell bought a 22 tonne zero-slew machine that is one of only two in Australia. Since then we have added more 23 tonne zero-slew machines to our fleet on projects such as the Cross City Tunnel

Fitted with one of Shantfell's short booms, it has been working in extremely confined spaces. Attachments for the zero-slew have included hydraulic hammers and a rock cutting saw.

Shantfell's proven expertise in TUNNELLING and underground excavation is set to see it well positioned over the next few years.

Shantfell is now seen as the market leader in underground TUNNELLING. With its most recent projects including TUNNELLING and sawing in the Cross City Tunnel, Lane Cove Tunnel and now the Eastlink Tunnel in Melbourne .

No other contractor in Australia has the ability to offer such high capacity short-boom machines - and the expertise to operate them. In addition, the concept has proved itself on four of Australia 's largest TUNNELLING projects of the past decade.

Shantfell is able to offer equipment which is unique to its operation, along with access to a specialist TUNNELLING workforce that has proved itself in some of the most difficult TUNNELLING conditions around.

One of Shantfell's 20 tonne Komatsu PC200-6 excavators with a modified boom working on a shaft excavation for the M5 East.