The Gambellara, Vicenza province-based manufacturer states: “With its small dimensions, the new Perlini DP265WD is the ideal vehicle for quarries and public works; the width of under three metres also allows road transport without special transit permissions or escorts.”
The company adds that the DP265WD has the usual prized Perlini features, including a brake/retarder system with oil-bath brakes, oil-pneumatic suspension, and typical Perlini stability and operator cabin comfort. The new RDT also has a sustainability-minded Stage V Scania DC09 engine and an Allison 4430ORS transmission with updated electronics.
First presented at bauma 2022 in Munich, Germany (24-30 October), the DP265WD was also showcased by Perlini at the 31st edition of SaMoTer and co-located Asphaltica (3-7 May 2023).
Speaking to Aggregates Business at SaMoTer, Paola Pugliani, Perlini’s sales marketing executive, says: “This is our first completely digital machine; the start of a new era. It allows our technicians to remotely control the haul truck and do preventative maintenance remotely. We can check the machine’s operation parameters hour by hour, not just fuel consumption and productivity but also whether something is wrong and needs attention. This system makes for easy maintenance working together with our customers.”
Pugliani says the DP265WD’s under-three-metre width is in response to many smaller quarry operators in Europe and North Africa requesting that kind of RDT over the past decade. “It is a very flexible machine that can work in a quarry and other work sites. We were recently contacted by an important customer in Ireland that was looking for a machine like ours. They have a narrow bridge to pass through in their quarry, and we are the only manufacturer currently offering an RDT of a suitable size.”
Perlini’s four-strong RDT range starts with the construction and quarrying-application-suited 26-tonne capacity DP265WD, followed by the also construction-and-quarrying-application-suited 40-tonne DP405WD, the 65-tonne DP705WD, and the 100-tonne capacity DP905WD. “The last two models are aimed specifically at mining applications,” says Pugliani.
She adds: “Perlini is targeting many Central Asian countries full of iron and other material mines. Due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, many BelAZ [Belarussian mining dump truck manufacturer] customers cannot get their trucks. So, they are now looking at other companies, like Perlini, to supply them with new machines.
“Many governments globally are also moving away from the gas and oil industry to the extraction of minerals in Central Asia and Africa. This means much finance is concentrated in this mining sector, which creates new opportunities for us. We are looking for good dealers in countries in these regions. They will need to do more than just selling trucks; they will need to offer customers quality after-service, including maintenance.”
At SaMoTer 2023, Perlini introduced its new Italian dealer, Rimini, Emilia-Romagna-based WR57. “The company is also a Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) dealer and provides our after-sales support, purchasing spare parts from us and selling them to Perlini customers. WR57 also offers Perlini dump trucks for rental. We are seeing more and more Italian customers wanting to rent our machines. Many of our customers see machine rental as the future. They are attracted by the ability to quickly change machines and always have the latest models, which is particularly important during busier periods.
“During the exhibition, we were visited by an important Italian company that runs cement plants nationwide and stressed the importance of rental machines. They like to test a new machine through a rental before purchasing it.”
Pugliani says Perlini is pleased to see Giorgia Meloni’s new Italian government continuing the infrastructure spending of the previous administration, creating good domestic business opportunities for off-highway machine manufacturers. “The previous government greatly supported manufacturers and end equipment users. We have a specific Industry 4.0 offer that helps sell machines. Many customers near our factory are working on big high-speed train works, and there are many infrastructure works in southern Italy.”
Perlini plans to treble its production capacity after a sustained period of investment. “By 2025, we will be able to produce up to 120 units annually, up from 40 units,” says Pugliani. “We are hiring many engineers and spending time training them. Our products are complex from an engineering perspective and very attractive.”
Turning to Perlini’s sustainability credentials, Pugliani says they are partly reflected in the company’s choice of engine supplier: “In 2019, we switched from another engine supplier to Scania, as the Scania engines complied with new EU Stage V emission standard, and also offer lower fuel consumption. We cooperate well with them, and now they supply engines for our Stage II emission market customers. Unfortunately, Scania doesn’t offer an engine with the horsepower required for our 100-tonne RDT, so we have a Fiat engine in that machine for Stage V and Stage II emission market customers.
“We also focus on lowering the noise that can be heard inside our truck cabins. That’s important for our operators and the wider environment. Our customers are also interested in running hybrid diesel-electric versions of our trucks. It is a project we are working on, and I think we will be ready with our first hybrid power models in a couple of years. The rigid hauler is in our DNA, and a sustainable product range is very important to us.”
