The worker ant of the North Coast

When I think of great developments like the Ballito Junction and the upcoming Ballito Bay development, there’s one vehicle that bequeaths speed and efficiency to the very core.

The diesel soundtrack of progress, construction and ‘let’s get on with it’ has two colours – yellow and black.

The JCB is much more than an earth-moving machine. I could guarantee that whatever structure you’re reading this in had a JCB beneath it first.

Founded in 1945 with 22 factories stretched across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, the J.C. Bamford company has been at work from Staffordshire, England, to establish the foundation of building and construction in all arenas.

As a symbol of productivity, reliability and trust, the machine label is plastered alongside projects from Dubai to the military.

The name of Joseph Cyril Bamford is unpronounced yet popular in every country on earth, and being a highly versatile machine varying itself for such a vast array of applications, it stands to reason.

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This model from Mascor Umhlali is the 3DX; a beast of a machine that rumbles the ground as it sets about moving the earth from here to there.

Taking it for granted, I mistake it’s starting procedure for being typical of a car – but one is quickly reminded of the transmission selector on the steering column like a classic American vehicle, which must be set to neutral first just after the far-reaching handbrake near the right side door.

Driving everything from a John Deere 3020 to a zamboni, all I can remember is that there are two foot brakes: one to turn around a right angle and a left.

Chugging along I feel slightly invincible, with the vicious front end loader and, at the turn of a lever, a backhoe that could probably withstand a landmine.

A worker-ant of the world, the 3DX is a 63kW Leatherman that’s a bit like a very eager friend who always has a tool in its pocket.

A close friend of mine who soldiers in Israel told me of a modified JCB that pulled up alongside an improvised explosive device (IED), scraped the top of it and set off a blast – eliminating nothing more than a chip off the teeth on the bucket.

Another JCB was also the saviour of a man trapped alive in a local construction site in 2015 when a sand bank collapsed over him and he needed many tonnes of soil removed off him.

It doesn’t surprise me that this industrial heavyweight is actually a representation of a typical South African; multi-skilled and eager.

Considering that the machine is largely driven by those who don’t expect relaxation, the cabin is surprisingly comfortable with a suspended seat, air-conditioner and a JCB sound system that looks and sounds better than an entry level-car.

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Working the controls for the hydraulic front-end loader and backhoe isn’t at all difficult, as demonstrated by the Courier’s sales manager Surekha Brijlall, steering the leviathan with ease.

The excavator also has an unexpected ‘eco dig’ setting operating from a rocker switch on the main console, giving me a choice between maximum efficiency and digging potential as well as fine grading and lifting – an unforeseen but welcome addition to the JCB name’s lineup.

Farmers will appreciate that the potential additions of a hydraulic hose reel, hammer or woodpecker – the 3DX will doze, load, grab, grade, dig and backfill anything they wouldn’t do on a Sunday morning, and even provide you with a hot cup of tea or coffee with an additional beverage maker custom fitted to the roomy cabin.

It’s hard to imagine where the Dolphin Coast would be without such an understated machine, and if you want your own you could potentially kickstart your own country.

Download The North Coast Courier mobile app, now available free from the Apple iStore and on Google Play, for IOS and Android phones.