Major deals have been completed worldwide for both articulated and rigid dump trucks, with one company claiming an historic order for its equipment.
Discussions started after Hillhead 2012, when Robin Piper, Bell Equipment’s national accounts manager, met with Chris Hope, continuous improvement manager at
According to Hope, awareness of Bell machines among colleagues was not high, with little direct experience of using Bell products and a poor perception. Piper implemented a number of site demonstrations of Bell ADTs, while tests were conducted by HeidelbergCement in Belgium on wheeled loaders from
As a result of the tests and demonstrations, Bell was invited by Hanson to tender for its 2014-2015 purchasing period, the latest step in an ambitious programme of investment in new plant, following a long period post-2008 when the downturn necessitated a freeze on purchasing.
“The brighter economic outlook of recent years has made it essential that we have equipment capable of meeting growing demand, and we had a remit to replace a sizeable number of machines nationwide with the focus on key sites and applications,” says Hope.
Bell secured an order for machines, and as part of the process it determined the optimum machines for each site, surveying the sites where machines were needed.
“The suggested spec was based on a like-for-like comparison with the existing machines, but since much has changed in terms of machine performance since those models were purchased,” says Hope.
“Developments in technology mean that we could go smaller without compromising on performance and, indeed, achieve greater cost-efficiencies.”
Deliveries were staggered throughout late 2014 and early 2015, with the last completed in July.
The aggregates and asphalt divisions took seven machines (a Bell B40D ADT and six Bell L2606E wheeled loaders) across five sites; Hanson Concrete took the first L1506E wheeled loader in August 2014; and four Bell wheeled loaders (three L1706E and one L1506E) went to Hanson’s packed products division.
The final three machines (a B25E ADT plus L2106E and L1204E loaders) were specified for the building products division.
In another deal, L Lynch, a major name in the UK plant hire industry, has ordered 20 of the 30tonne capacity Bell B30E ADTs for the first time as part of a substantial investment as the company capitalises on the current upswing in construction and infrastructure projects across the UK.
Bell machines are fitted with the company’s proprietary Fleetm@tic software, which will enable L Lynch plant managers to monitor the efficiency of each machine. Amongst other features, Fleetm@tic provides real-time data on fuel usage and loading capacity, as well as alerts on breakdowns or servicing.
Meanwhile, ten TR60 rigid dump trucks from
It is one of a number of orders for units from Terex Trucks.
The order for 55tonne capacity TR60s will be supplied by local Terex Trucks dealer, LHM (Leadway Heavy Machinery), which has supplied Myanmar Thura with equipment for years.
“Terex Trucks machines had been brought to our attention following the acquisition by Volvo Construction Equipment,” says Kyaw Thura, managing director at Myanmar Thura.
The TR60s will be required to work day and night in two shifts, hauling 55tonne loads of earth, rock and jade from the mine, where the elements will be separated for further processing.
Experiencing increased demand, and with a new branch recently opened in Inverness, Scotland, Garriock Brothers, the biggest privately-owned company in Shetland, Scotland, has purchased an additional Terex Trucks TA300 articulated hauler to keep up with the demand.
The company bought its first Terex truck in 2010, one of the first TA400 ADTs produced by the Terex Trucks factory in Motherwell, Scotland.
“The TA400 is a great machine, trouble-free and reliable, so we were confident in our first purchase of a 28tonne capacity TA300 articulated dump truck, back in 2012,” says Michael Broe, director of Garriock Bros.
The TA300 is said to be built for harsh and arduous conditions and performs well in the company’s stone quarry and in the wet, boggy terrain of the peat shifting job sites. The machines has now clocked 4,000 hours and is still going strong.
Hydro and wind farm projects in the Highlands of Scotland have prompted a high demand for heavy-hauling trucks, and Garriock Bros decided to purchase an additional Terex Trucks TA300 for its fleet.
Two similar ADTs have been bought by existing Terex Trucks customer, Rudnik Uglja Gracanica, for hauling coal at the company’s Gracanica mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing the total of Terex trucks in the fleet to nine.
Three new appointments have also been announced by Terex Trucks in aftermarket and customer support management.
Based in North Carolina, Manuel Nemer has been appointed regional aftermarket commercial manager for the Americas region; Paul Culliford, based at the Terex Trucks headquarters in Motherwell, Scotland, has been appointed Terex Trucks’ regional after-market business development manager for Europe, Africa and Russia CIS, and Joe Sottosanti, based in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, is supporting Nick Love, head of customer support.
Meanwhile,
As with other Hitachi RDTs, the 65tonne maximum payload EH1100, the smallest of the Hitachi RDTs, is said to be designed with fuel efficiency, longevity and ease of operation as standard, with a number of features supporting these principles.
The EH1100 models are equipped with advanced suspension systems, novel body design, and a reliable electrical system, in order to ensure a quality product of strength and control.
Speaking at bauma Conexpo Africa 2015, Richard Blaylock, a Durban-based branch manager at Hitachi Construction Machinery SA, said: “Quarrying in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape is vibrant but the mining market, where we are among the leaders in the equipment we sell, is still tough. There are road building and construction projects on the go, and there’s the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, which will stimulate construction equipment sales due to a need for new building accommodation.”
A package of 22
In all, eight Volvo A25Gs, six A30Gs and eight A40Gs, along with two Volvo 38tonne EC380Es and a couple of smaller 22tonne EC220Es have been added to the Walters’ fleet, which now totals some 350 items of plant.
The addition of the new Tier IV Final A25s, A30s and A40s this brings the total number of Volvo articulated haulers to 57 in a fleet of articulated trucks numbering 100.
“We opted for these models basically to balance the fleet out so now we have an appropriate mix of 25, 30 and 40tonne trucks at our disposal,” says Huw Richards, group director.
The latest G series haulers from Volvo meet the requirements of Stage IV Final emissions legislation being powered by electronically controlled, six-cylinder turbocharged Volvo V-ACT diesel engines which feature high torque at low engine speeds, “resulting in good fuel efficiency, high performance, quicker engine response and less wear.”
With carrying capacities of 24, 28 and 39tonnes respectively the haulers can attain a maximum speed of 53km/hour, and are also fitted with CareTrack as standard. This is Volvo’s telematics system that enables remote monitoring of a wide range of machine functions, such as location, fuel consumption and service reminders.
The Walters Group was established in 1982 by chairman Dave Walters. With the main core of the group’s business focused on equipment solutions for quarrying and surface mine operations; civil engineering and demolition, in recent years the group has secured several prestigious load and haul contracts in a number of large quarries throughout the UK.
This will involve the annual movement of a huge amount of rock on a face-to-crusher load and haul basis.
