Al Hawathim produces aggregates for use in asphalt, concrete, hollow blocks and interlock from several sites across Oman.
Of these, conditions at its Barka site north-west of Muscat are particularly brutal with high temperatures, strong winds and irrepressible fine dust.
Such a challenging environment is tough on both man and machine, yet the new Volvo L220G wheeled loader is said to be not only mastering the conditions, but doing so while enhancing the environment for the operator.
“I have worked in the Middle East for the past ten years and much of that time was spent using wheeled loaders in Qatar. For the past four months I have been here at Barka using the Volvo L220G and I have to say it is a superb machine,” says Ganga Ram, the wheeled loader operator at Barka.
“It has more power, its response is faster and it just makes loading easier compared to other makes of machine I’ve used.
“I just don’t get fatigued using this machine. I would say the air conditioning is the best in the industry and with controls ideally suited to the work, very low noise in the cab and fantastic visibility, I now only want to work with Volvo machines.”
General manager at Al Hawathim, Rommal Ligsay, echoes the sentiment.
“Because of the greater operator comfort we are able to use the L220G for a maximum of 18 hours in a day in comparison to the ten hours that was manageable using our previous wheeled loader that wasn’t a Volvo. Furthermore, we are noticing significant savings in fuel consumption with the Volvo L220G averaging some 25% less than its predecessor.
“Overall, I would say that since taking the L220G we have seen a 35 to 40% increase in productivity and that’s a considerable advantage for our business.”
The Barka site produces aggregates of 0>5mm, 0>10mm, 10>20mm and 20>32mm from gabbro rock extracted from a wadi. Crushing with a single impact crusher with built-in screens, Al Hawathim produces some 3,000tonnes/day, 25 days/month at the site.
“Now we have the Volvo L220G in operation we are loading up to 133 trucks per day with crushed aggregate. Knowing that we have
