Komatsu apprentices have restored a 1976 Komatsu D10A-1 track loader as part of the company’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
Based at the Komatsu’s Wacol branch in Brisbane, apprentices carried out a complete restoration of the vintage loader with the aim of bringing them closer to the heart of the company’s culture and heritage.
Under the technical supervision of product support manager Mark Stone, five apprentices restored the machine to as-new condition. It is now on permanent display at the Wacol Innovation Hub.
The Komatsu apprentice crew worked for five months on the iconic two tonne track loader in liaison with the company’s skilled technical and trade specialists, as well as supplier partners.
While taking on the project the apprentices continued attending to their regular work tasks at Wacol.
Trevor Jackson, who oversaw the restoration project, pre delivered the loader as a first-year apprentice.
“By the time we’d finished, it was back in full working order, looking as good as it had done when it was locally delivered as a new machine on August 19, 1976,” the company said.
Apprentices involved in the project were Sam Gray, Matthew Tafai and Ryan Egerton, all fourth-year apprentices, Max Battermah, a third-year apprentice and Oonagh Keogh, a first-year apprentice.
The project partnered with Queensland Mine Maintenance as well as local businesses to restore the loader.
The restoration was a technical process, instilling the apprentices with skills in handling vintage machinery they may not have had to opportunity to gain otherwise.
This project is the latest in Komatsu’s commitment to the next generation of skilled workers, with their recent $250,000 donation welcomed by the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED) Foundation to increase the number of qualified technicians entering the equipment distribution industry.
