GORDON Bow Plant Hire has invested in ten new Volvo EC140E excavators. The deal forms part of a £5 million investment programme for the Broxburn-headquartered firm.
The 14-tonne excavators join a mixed fleet which has been boosted by some 70 new machines bought over the course of 2019.
Earlier this year, Project Plant reported that Gordon Bow was embarking on ambitious expansion plans, with senior staff appointments and plans afoot for a new depot. The business aims to increase turnover to around £10 million over the coming years.
Business development manager Jason Taylor said, “We recognised that the Volvo product has a good reputation in the market place for reliability and build quality, with operators appreciating the cab comfort, controllability and performance of the machines.
“It’s early days, but so far we’ve been very pleased with the SMT and Volvo experience, and hope this is the start of a long-term relationship moving forwards. Certainly, the feedback from our regular customers has been immensely positive, with reports of good fuel economy too.”
The EC140E is powered by Volvo Stage V compliant 4-cylinder engine, developing 121 hp. The machine’s ‘Integrated work mode control’ is said to offer ‘high efficiency, rapid dig cycles’, which lowers fuel consumption.
Boom and arm geometry have been designed to provide ‘highly competitive’ digging forces and lifting capacities. For example, the maximum reach with the standard 3m dipper arm is 8.85 metres, whilst the maximum dig depth is 6 metres.
However, the lifting capacity at full reach across carriage equals 1.9-tonnes. Hose rupture valves are fitted as standard to the boom and dipper cylinders, as are quick fit hydraulics and a hammer/shear service.
Gordon Bow has also chosen to take the optional X3 rotation circuit and proportional controls.
