Excavator easily extracts sand and gravel from lake

In the famous French wine-growing region of Bordeaux, the Colas Sud Ouest-owned company, Sarrazy, is using a Hitachi super-long front ZX350LC-3 excavator on two different sites

In Naujac-sur-Mer, the machine digs to a depth of 5m, removing 70,000tonnes of raw materials from beneath the man-made lake each year. At a second location in Queyrac, which processes 30,000tonnes of aggregate annually, it excavates to a depth of 9m.

4758 Sarrazy, which was taken over by the 402 Colas Group in 1992, took delivery of the Zaxis medium excavator in 2009 from local authorised dealer, DB Equipment

“We needed a machine that could dig deep into the water. It was also bought to work at the two sites, so we needed a versatile and reliable solution. The super-long front ZX350LC-3 has already proved its worth in these respects,” says Christian Bell, the area manager for Sarrazy.

The Naujac-sur-Mer site, which also recycles 15,000tonnes of concrete per year, was originally a pine forest, but it was wiped out by a huge storm in 1989. The lake there has been created by materials being excavated and left to dry around the side of the pit. It has become a haven for wildlife, attracting herons and gulls, enhancing the biodiversity of the environment.

The super-long-front’s 18m front attachment is said to be ideal for working under the water and the machine also loads Sarrazy’s fleet of articulated dump trucks. However, the company has recently ordered a 6512 Hitachi ZW220 wheel loader, which will take over the latter task.

Bell is confident the wheel loader will be a wise investment.

“We decided to buy the ZW220 because of the success of the ZX350LC-3. We are delighted with the support provided by DB Equipment and have established an excellent working relationship together.”

Dredging with Liebherr crane
The company chose a 439 Liebherr HS 845 HD duty cycle crawler crane for dragline application and using the dredging method approximately 200,000m³ of gravel and sand were extracted, intermediately stored and loaded for further transportation.

For the dragline work in eastern Austria, Kiesabbau Wiedemann’s Liebherr HS 845 HD is equipped with a powerful 350kW six cylinder diesel engine.

The steel structure of the uppercarriage is said to provide ideal conditions for the heavy duty dragline application. Liebherr’s proven Litronic control system which is based on CANBUS technology is standard on the HS 845 HD.

The electronic system incorporates all control and monitoring functions of the crawler crane and works even at extreme temperatures, under humid conditions or vibration.

“The electro-hydraulic continuous proportional control of Liebherr duty cycle crawler cranes enables precise and simultaneous crane movements, which are indispensable for dragline applications,” says Liebherr.

The equipment’s Interlock control system, specially developed for dragline applications, allows power lowering of the grab line when raising the dragline bucket with the hoist rope, “which saves energy and prolongs service life of the hoist rope.”