Central Sulawesi in Indonesia will soon be much easier to reach thanks to a runway extension at Morowali Airport. A fleet of
Before 2017, Morowali Regency in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was only accessible via land or sea. That all changed in March, when the first airport was completed. Now, to accommodate larger aircrafts at the airport, a fleet of Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) excavators are helping to expand the single runway.
“We are working under a tight five-month deadline to complete the runway extension, so we need durable machines with high efficiency—that’s why we selected the EC210D excavator,” said Ahmad Hakim Abdul Rauf, director and owner of PT Putra Morowali Sejahtera. “The Volvo excavators consume less fuel and provide superior performance. Plus, the aftermarket support from our dealer gives us the peace of mind we need.”
Four EC210D crawler excavators are helping to expand the runway from 1.3km to 1.8km to accommodate larger capacity planes and in anticipation of greater flight demands in the future.
Designed to increase productivity and reduce fuel consumption, the robust crawler excavator features a maximum bucket capacity of 1.22m³, a maximum slew speed of 12.3r/min and a maximum slew torque of 76.7kNm. The EC210D is equipped with a four-cylinder Volvo D5E engine. PT Putra Morowali Sejahtera purchased the EC210D excavators from PT Intraco Penta Prima Servis (IPPS), Volvo CE´s distribution partner for the Sulawesi region.
In addition to helping improve air-access in Morowali, seven EC210D heavy-duty excavators are working as utility machines at a smelter plant. Three EC210B, the predecessor to the EC210D, are helping to produce an average of 7,500tonnes of stones daily at a river quarry. On both the smelter plant and the river quarry, the excavators work a minimum of 10 hours in challenging and demanding conditions.
The EC210D can be equipped with either a top or side mounted Volvo hydraulic breaker built to break even most demanding materials, delivering consistent power and high breaking force. The Volvo-designed hydraulic breaker/shear piping and quick coupler piping option provide optimum flow to the hydraulic attachments. State-of-the-art auxiliary lines allow the correct flow and pressure for special attachments.
“At both the smelter plant and the river quarry, machines work with abrasive material, which quickly reduces bucket teeth and affects the undercarriage. But with the EC210D excavators we’ve experienced fewer breakdowns—they truly are higher performers,” Ahmad Hakim Abdul Rauf said.
