Given the relatively recent surge in demand for construction materials, Benth Winqvist, owner and managing director of ABBEMA, is still congratulating himself on his wise decision more than two years ago to invest in a huge Metso Lokotrack LT330D mobile cone crusher. By then, his business that had begun as a decade-long side project/hobby was well established as a fully-fledged provider of construction and crushing services in southern Sweden, and business was booming, enjoying a SEK 40 million (€3.87mn) turnover. Now, eight of his current 25 machines are crushers – although none of the other seven are quite on the same scale as his new 71-tonne, 20.5m-long behemoth.
“We were already seeing high demand back in mid-2019,” says Winqvist, “so we had to increase our operating capacity. Not only is this big new machine ideally suited to our latest production targets, but it’s also the largest size you can get without having to dismantle it before transporting it to a new site. And also, because we want to be at the forefront as a service provider, we need to stay up-to-date with the most innovative models in the market.”
Combining a secondary crusher with a three-deck screener on the same chassis, the LT330D is innovative. Typically receiving stone directly from a primary crusher before reprocessing it into smaller sizes, three different fractions of material can be produced simultaneously. With its Nordberg GP330 cone crusher electrically driven to achieve the most economical operation, it usually relies on operating from an external mains power supply – but in ABBEMA’s case, when its machines can be found working anywhere up to 500 km from their base in Mjölby, this is often not possible.
Accordingly, Winqvist selected a Volvo Penta D16 as its integrated generator power package, ensuring efficient operation at any time or place. Designed to power a wide range of standby and prime power generator sets, this compact and low-weight inline 6-cylinder, 16.1-liter diesel genset engine features dual-stage turbochargers and heavy-duty steel pistons to ensure excellent power density, providing a prime power equivalent to 596 kWm at 50Hz/1500rpm.
“The D16 has proven to be very reliable, and except for during scheduled servicing, it’s almost always running,” enthuses Winqvist. “However, as the quarry environment is very harsh and dusty, we have decided to stick to a 500-hour service interval time rather than the suggested 1,000 hours – we believe it is better to err on the side of caution. Scheduled services make everyone feel secure, particularly since we have had no unplanned downtime in the two years we’ve been running this crusher.”
With its easily accessible service and maintenance points, the D16 is designed to ensure minimum downtime through ease of servicing.
Adam Johnson, the LT3330D’s main operator and person in charge of daily logistics has witnessed the benefits of Volvo Penta’s D16 first-hand: “It doesn’t consume much oil or fuel compared with other brands, so it’s much cheaper to run. It’s very strong too, enabling the crushing of 220 tons of small aggregates for concrete and roadbuilding per hour, or 350 tons of large fractions. And the low noise is another welcome benefit!”
Because the crusher’s D16 is the first Volvo Penta engine to enter service at ABBEMA, there was always the potential for unexpected problems to ruin the honeymoon period, but Winqvist says it has all been plain sailing so far. “We did have to establish contact with a new dealer network – and as we are a mobile operation, we are dependent on dealers situated at different locations which could have been a challenge,” he explains. “But thanks to clear dialog and good cooperation, everything has been running smoothly.”
This is no happy accident, agrees Fredrik Larsson, global OEMs key account manager, Volvo Penta – it requires a lot of hard work behind the scenes. “At Volvo Penta, we strive to continuously improve and have a service network of suitable density,” he reveals. “We work proactively with our OEMs to establish good relationships between their dealers and our dealers before the machines are put into operation. Personal relationships are key here. In this case, our dealer in Sweden is working closely with Metso to deliver the best customer satisfaction possible.”
Winqvist is already sold on the idea of adding more Volvo Penta-equipped machines to his growing fleet, although, having invested heavily in new – and ever-larger – crushers, excavators, and loaders over the past four years, any further purchases are still months away at the earliest.
“Our strategy is to run our machines for around four years,” says Winqvist, “and then replace them with the latest, most innovative technology. So, I'm sure we'll cross paths with Volvo Penta again!”
