During its April meeting last week, Narrandera Shire Council voted to upgrade some of its heavy plant machinery and buy a road construction grader, valued at just a few hundred dollars short of half a million.

The decision followed a competitive tender process as part of the council’s 10-year Plant Replacement Program.

Submissions closed on 29 January, with three companies lodging a total of five bids, however just three tenders were deemed to conform to the council’s requirements.

One submission failed to provide the required documentation, while another, proposing a complete rebuild of the council’s existing grader, was excluded as the council is seeking a new machine.

The final tender evaluation involved inspecting and operating the tendered machine.

During the assessment, a larger CAT 150 T3 model priced at $566,729 was also considered, but then ruled out due to its size and higher cost.

The final evaluation was between WesTrac and John Deere, but the council chose to award the contract to WesTrac for a CAT 140 T3 grader valued at $499,243, excluding GST.

As the council’s grader has a 14-foot blade, the council asked both short-listed companies to confirm the pricing of a supplied machine with the larger blade instead of the 12-foot blade specified in the original tender documents.

John Deere advised there would be no change in price, while WesTrac confirmed a saving of $742, which was included in the final financial analysis.

Council staff believed the WesTrac tender offered the best value for money, “scoring highest in the overall evaluation while submitting the lowest conforming tender price”.

The new machine will replace the council’s existing mid-sized grader, and will be used for road construction and maintenance.