Offering premium performance in the quarrying-suited 30- to 35-tonne wheeled loader class, the new Cat 980 and 982 medium wheeled loaders are up to 10% more productive and reduce maintenance costs by up to 20% when compared to the U.S. off-highway machine giant’s previous 980M and 982M powershift models. New to this class of medium wheeled loaders, the Cat 980 XE and 982 XE models feature a Caterpillar-designed and -manufactured continuous variable transmission (CVT). The CVT delivers increased fuel efficiencies of up to 35% and lower maintenance costs of up to 25% compared to the M series models.
As Thierry Brasseur, Caterpillar’s medium wheeled loaders product and application specialist in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, outlines, the new Cat 980 and 982 models include an expanded technology platform to increase machine performance and improve operating efficiency.
“The Cat 980 and 982’s main applications in Europe are in quarries,” says Brasseur. “In Europe, these models can be used to load aggregates trucks in smaller quarries, and in larger quarries, they can be used as primary or back-up loading models at the quarry face, especially the Cat 982, given its bigger size and stability.”
Brasseur explains that Standard Cat Payload with Assist on all 980 and 982 series loaders provides an accurate weighing of bucket payloads, so operators can be “more efficient”, loading to target the first time every time. This new technology includes low-lift-weigh and manual tip-off functions. Optional Cat Advanced Payload expands the system’s functionality with Lists-Management, Multitask- & Manual-Add Modes and Tip-off assist. Compatible with third-party scale-house software, it can wirelessly integrate the machine in the scale-house process with Dispatch-for-Loading (additional subscription required).
The new Cat Autodig with Auto Set Tyres promotes proper loading, significantly reducing tyre slip and loading time. It can automate the complete bucket loading cycle to deliver consistently high bucket fill factors for up to 10% more productivity.
Standard along with Autodig and Auto Set Tyres, the new models introduce application profiles. The press of one button sets multiple machine parameters to optimise settings for the application at hand. Customised profiles can be created to fit customer-specific cases. Selectable on-screen job aids, along with a streamlined new controls layout, promotes ease of operation to help all operators be more productive.
“Many quarrying customers say that their biggest problem is getting qualified operators,” says Peter-Valentin Sauter, Caterpillar’s EAME quarry industry consultant. “The Cat Assist and Autodig features are tremendous now.”
Brasseur adds: “I heard a nice remark recently from a Swiss quarry wheeled loader operator who said he didn’t want to use the Assist and Autodig functions as it ‘took away the fun’ of operating their machines. But he said he and others had started to use it as it enabled them to focus on safety, looking in their rearview camera and elsewhere, as their bucket was filling up with material. He said it was also helping to reduce cycle times.”
Caterpillar is offering a CVT option for the first time in the medium-sized wheeled loader class. The new Cat 980 XE and 982 XE models leverage over ten years of production experience with the 966K XE, 966M XE and 972M XE models.
The 980 XE and 982 XE feature a high-efficiency, continuously-variable, parallel-path drive system. It combines a direct mechanical path from the engine to the wheels with a Hystat variator.
Sauter says the deep integration of the Cat CVT, engine, hydraulic and cooling system significantly improves the 980 XE and 982 XE wheeled loaders’ fuel efficiency by up to 35% by lowering the rated engine speed with lower high rimpull. These models feature fine rimpull modulation capability and virtual gears to allow operators a seamless switch from powershift machines. Sauter says these features also ensure reduced operating noise levels.
“Fuel price and annual utilisation are key factors in deciding whether the XE machines are good options for your quarry. Purchase payback time will be faster or slower based on them,” continues Sauter. “For those quarries looking for notable CO2 reduction, the XE models will be the preferred option. Most governments are putting more and more emphasis on CO2 reduction.”
“The new XE models are slightly more expensive than the new 980 and 982 standard models. But quarry customers can expect a 980 XE or 982 XE wheeled loader working an average shift a day over 2,000 hours a year, fueled by diesel priced at €1 per litre, to deliver a good return on investment in less than two years,” adds Brasseur.
Sauter expands on this: “If you connect this calculation if you save three to four litres of fuel per hour in operating a 980 XE or 982 XE, running the machines for 2,000 hours a year, you are talking about saving 8,000 litres of fuel a year. This equals a saving of more than 20 tonnes of CO2. It’s massive and extremely important, with most quarries we talk to having CO2 reduction firmly on their radar, with governments, like the German government, putting more taxes on CO2 output.”
Commenting on what haulers like about the Cat 980 XE and 982 XE wheeled loaders, Sauter says: “A good rigid hauler match in Europe is the Cat 770 or 772. There is already quite a robust population of those trucks in European quarries.”
Brasseur adds: “The Cat 980 and 982 are also very popular in North America quarries when used to load on-highway trucks in two passes. Those kinds of trucks do not exist in Europe.”
Access to the new Cat 980 and 982 operator’s cab is easy thanks to its wide door, stair-like steps and grabrails for additional stability. The new adjustable suspension seat comes in Comfort, Deluxe and Premium levels that include heated and heated/cooled options for improved year-round comfort. Seat belts are now monitored, and the system can be completed with an exterior beacon for supervisors to enhance jobsite safety. Taller operators will appreciate increased legroom inside the new cab, while sound suppression, seals and viscous cab mounts lower noise and vibration levels for a quiet work environment. Next-generation ride control acts as a shock absorber to improve ride comfort over rough terrain.
The loaders’ new dashboard and high-resolution touchscreen display provide intuitive and user-friendly loader control for enhanced performance. The seat-mounted electrohydraulic joystick steering system provides precise control over the new Cat 980 and 982 series models with minimal arm movements to increase comfort and loading accuracy. A conventional steering wheel is also available on the 980. Automatic control of the air conditioning system keeps the cab as cool as desired.
The new loaders now feature a push-to-start system that requires a valid operator ID to crank the engine. The operator ID works with a passcode input on the display or with the optional Cat Bluetooth key. It can act as a machine security system with programmable operating restrictions.
The floor-to-ceiling windshield improves forward visibility of the work area. At the same time, the standard rear-vision camera, along with convex and spot mirrors, help to enhance visibility around the machine to improve operating safety. Cat Detect radar to alert operators to hazards and a Multi-view (360°) vision system are available options to provide an extra level of monitoring around the loaders to advance safe operation.
Extended fluid and filter change intervals on the Cat 980 and 982 wheeled loaders reduce maintenance costs by up to 20% and by up to 25% on the 980 XE and 982 XE models. All maintenance intervals are now scheduled in 1,000-hour increments, eliminating service downtime every 500 hours. All models offer convenient access to hydraulic & electrical service centres and grouped lube points for fast and easy servicing.
Remote services technologies on the new Cat medium wheeled loaders can save service trips to the jobsite and ensure the machine operates at peak performance. Remote Troubleshoot connects the machine to the dealer’s service department over the air to quickly diagnose fault codes without an on-machine cable connection.
Remote Flash ensures the wheeled loaders operate with the most up-to-date software while working around the production schedule. Update files are pushed to the machine in the background, and installation can be safely initiated from the Cat Remote Services Web Portal by the customer, reducing the impact on production schedules. Helping to manage fleet loader location, hours and maintenance schedules, the web portal connects fleet managers to the machine and allows dealer service requests from a mobile device.
Cat Performance Series buckets balance bucket shape against the machine’s linkage for higher fill factors and better material retention than other bucket designs with the same rated capacity. Cat Work tools are an integral part of the complete machine design and are a significant contributor to the performance and efficiency of Cat wheeled loaders.
The new Cat 980 can be equipped with the optional Fusion Quick Coupler, which delivers quick bucket changes without leaving the cab. Contractors can also choose from several purpose-built special configurations to optimise loader performance and durability in tough applications, including Industrial & Waste, Forestry, Steel-mill, and Block-handler.
Austrian company Rohrdorfer recently began using a Cat 982 XE wheeled loader in its quarrying applications. One of its operator’s, Jürgen Schneidhofer, said: “The machine is easy to use. There are two touchscreens. You can set everything: the gearbox, the lift damping, the dumping speed. I use the weighing technology, as it is in line with our scale. It works quite well, and it is accurate.”
Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace is a French company employing ten people, founded in 1965 and based in Metzeral in the French département of Haut-Rhin in Alsace. Its field of activity is diverse and includes the quarrying, extraction, crushing and sale of gravel, granite, and natural stones. The company collaborates with the Conseil Général du Haut-Rhin in securing riverbanks in Alsace with rock fillings.
Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace was on the lookout for a new Liebherr excavator as a replacement for its former R 944 C excavator. Following a final test phase, the firm opted for the R 945 G8, which has the same digging power as the R 944 C.
A partnership stretching back more than five decades has existed between Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace and Liebherr. This historical connection, the quality of the customer service and the opportunity to order a customised excavator are key criteria for Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace when choosing a Liebherr excavator. Production in France in the immediate proximity represents the quality of the machines in the company’s eyes.
The R 945 G8 is in use for eight hours a day. It is operated by a single driver and is used primarily for extracting granite from the quarry. In this process, the blocks are sorted by their size and loaded into dump trucks, transporting them directly to the customers. The R 945 G8 is characterised by greater flexibility and movement accuracy than the R 944 C, thereby offering more productivity and comfort. The equipment with powerful LED lighting and an extended field of vision ensures additional safety. The R 945 G8 differs from the R 944 C in terms of lower fuel consumption. Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace has already noticed a significant fuel saving: The R 945 G8 only consumes about half as much as the R 944 C, at 19 litres/hour. The users can estimate their future savings themselves with the fuel savings calculator.
The R 945 G8 has been configured in accordance with the specifications of Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace. It is equipped with a 6.15m-long SME boom and was supplied with a large, reinforced special bucket optimally suited to the company’s requirements. Its 2.6m-long SME dipper arm makes it easy to load a semi-trailer up to the end of the skip. Nouvelles Carrières d’Alsace uses the LiDat system, allowing it to monitor the consumption of its Liebherr fleet remotely and draw comparisons across its various applications. The company also benefits from its proximity to the Liebherr-France SAS production site in Colmar, especially in terms of service.
A fleet of Volvo articulated haulers, wheeled loaders, and excavators – including a new EC550E – is helping Daeil Development reduce fuel consumption while keeping pace with the ever-growing aggregates demand in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, South Korea.
Iksan’s location in the fertile plains between the Geumgang and Mangyeonggang rivers has long made it a centre of agricultural and religious signifcance. Now the city of 300,000 people is undergoing rapid transformation into a national transport, industrial and cultural hub.
Large-scale construction and infrastructure projects are being implemented one after the other, especially around the Saemangum National Industrial Complex, which at 409 km2 is the world’s largest reclamation site. Demand for building materials is booming and has seen aggregates producer Daeil Development grow along with the city.
Established in 1983, Daeil Development operates three quarries in Iksan, generating up to a million cubic metres of aaggregates per year. The company requires high uptime from its equipment to meet these production targets – a combination of durable design, simple maintenance requirements, and reliable aftermarket support. Fuel efficiency, as well as the safety and comfort of operators, are also important considerations.
These factors make Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) an ideal partner for Daeil Development. In addition to various large crushers and conveyors, the company employs a fleet of 16 Volvo machines, comprising 11 excavators of various sizes, three L180H wheeled loaders and two A25D articulated haulers. Its most recent acquisition was a Volvo EC550E excavator.
“We have long been convinced that Volvo machines are more durable and fuel-efficient than other manufacturers’ equipment,” says Pyeong-sik Kim, CEO of Daeil Development. “The impact of introducing a Volvo EC480E excavator and L180H wheeled loaders to our site has been even better than expected and we now achieve much higher fuel efficiency than with the equipment we had before. I am also very pleased with the productivity and cost-effectiveness of our Volvo machines.”
Before purchasing the new Volvo EC550E, Pyeong-sik Kim received a visit from a member of the Volvo CE team, who passionately explained the features of the EC550E, earning his trust.
“The Volvo representative explained how the recently-launched EC550E performs better and consumes less fuel than the previous model – and since I have come to trust Volvo over the years, I immediately purchased the machine. We evaluated it over several days, gathering feedback from our most skilled operators, and confirmed that it meets almost all of our performance indicators and is easy to use, just as Volvo promised. Thanks to the EC550E excavator’s ability to handle several tasks at once, we expect our cycle times to reduce and our productivity to increase significantly,” he continued.
The Volvo EC550E excavator’s new IMVT hydraulic control system is perfectly matched to the low-RPM engine, which makes it possible to perform the work of a 60t super excavator with low fuel consumption. Meanwhile, the low centre of gravity and HD counterweight maintain stability on tough terrain. The CDC (Comfort Driving Control) enables the operator to control machine movements with a simple joystick and a FOG (Falling Object Guard) for protecting the front and top of the cab from falling objects is installed as standard to enhance convenience and stability during operation. Moreover, the EC550E is equipped with Volvo CareTrack telematics to enable real-time machine management at Daeil Development sites. This connectivity supports Daeil Development to leverage data insights for high efficiency, productivity and stable work patterns among its fleet.
“We at Daeil Development are very satisfied with the performance and efficiency of Volvo machines displayed at our work sites and I am always grateful for the outstanding aftermarket service provided by our local Volvo dealer – espeically Hyun-jun Kim, the manager of the Volvo service team. In the future, we are considering purchasing additional articulated haulers for our rough terrain operations and when the time comes to renew our fleet, I will not only choose Volvo machines without hesitation, but also strongly recommend them to others,” Kim concludes.
