YORKSHIRE-based Ashcourt Group has taken delivery of the first two Volvo EC550E excavators in the UK.
Supplied by SMT GB, the machines vow to deliver 20% higher production and 25% higher fuel efficiency.
“We were instantly impressed by the specification and the development of the machine with the new hydraulic system, the new electronics, and the new engine technology, so it was prime that we got the orders in,” said Paul Martin, plant director at Ashcourt Group.
The company will use one of the diggers for civil engineering projects, where its ‘strong lifting capacity’ will come into play. In mass excavation configuration, the second machine will work primarily at Ashcourt Group’s Partridge Hall Quarry.
Ashcourt Group typically runs the chalk quarry near Burnby with one excavator to rip out material from the face and one loading shovel to fill the mobile crusher and screeners, sort the piles, and load the Volvo FH trucks to transport the aggregates and lime away from the site.
“Because chalk has a low profit percentage, it is better to have fewer machines and staff but with greater productivity,” said quarry manager Damian Towse.
For the last few years, the company has paired a Volvo EC480E crawler excavator with a Volvo L260H wheeled loader. The new EC550E promises 20% greater production than the EC480E in typical dig and dump applications thanks to its larger bucket and faster cycle times.
“It’s a really good machine and really fast,” Damian added. “It’s got good breakout force and good productivity because the slew speed is so much faster than the EC480E. Plus you can alter your settings to give you more swing to less boom up and down. Normally, we’ll have half a morning ripping the face out, but in just half an hour up there with the EC550E, I ripped out enough for five hours’ crushing.”
As well as offering 20% greater production than the EC480E, the EC550E is also designed to deliver a 25% improvement in fuel efficiency.
“Fuel efficiency is key for us with red diesel no longer being available and the price of fuel going up,” Paul Martin explained. “It’s important for our cost per tonne in the quarry but also when we are pricing up external projects.”
SMT GB said the improved fuel efficiency comes from the new electro-hydraulic system, which uses independent metering valve technology (IMVT) instead of a conventional spool-type main control valve (MCV). Oil is pumped exactly according to demand.
