Quality Equipment and top notch after sales support proves a winner for Volvo CE
Bryan Contractors of Caputh, near Perth has added another new Volvo ECR88D reduced-swing excavator and a fourteen tonne EC140E excavator to its plant fleet for its general contracting and ground works business.
The two new machines were chosen because of the reliability, quality and after sales service that Mike Bryan has experienced since taking his first Volvo back in 2007. “The Volvo product is well specified and we’ve had a good overall experience of owning and operating them for the last ten years,” says Mike. “Both the reliability and the after sales service, when we’ve needed it, has been excellent along with strong residual values when we trade out, usually every four years,” he says.
Both machines were delivered in August, having been displayed at this year’s Black Isle Show. The ECR88D which has been supplied by SMT GB’s utility dealer for the north of Scotland – CSM Sales Ltd, has been equipped with optional steel tracks and, as a result, the local SMT Customer Support Centre at Stirling made a slight modification to the dozer blade to extend it to cover the width of the tracks. The machine has also been enhanced by the addition of a Geith ‘thumb’ which has been mounted to the underside of the dipper arm and works off of the hammer/shear hydraulic circuit, and thus works independently from the bucket cylinder. The ‘thumb’ is also designed to clamp to the bucket’s cutting edge without interfering with the bucket teeth. “The combination of the machine and the Geith attachment has proved to be very versatile – picking and sorting stone and handling diverse material such as timber, concrete and rubble,” says Mike.
The Volvo ECR88D is powered by a Volvo 2.6 litre low emission engine producing 56 hp coupled to a load sensing hydraulic system for fast cycle times and smooth control. The machine offers a generous horizontal reach of 7.3 metres, a dig depth of 4.5 metres and a lift capacity of 1020kg at full reach across the carriage. The ECR88D has a comfortable, spacious cab with a wide uncluttered floor. The instrument panel provides operators with at-a-glance monitoring of all key functions and operator fatigue is reduced through easy-grip, high response joystick control levers. The rubber-mounted cabs reduce whole-body vibration, and external noise minimizing the rigors of the jobsite whilst air conditioning with well positioned vents is a standard feature.
The EC140E model is powered by Volvo stage IV compliant 4 cylinder engine developing 121 hp. The machine’s ‘Integrated work mode control’ provides high efficiency, rapid dig cycles coupled to significantly low fuel consumption. This advanced mode control system ensures the maximum possible hydraulic horsepower available is delivered at a constant engine speed under varying load conditions. In addition, boom and arm geometry provide highly competitive digging forces and lifting capacities, which makes for faster work cycles. Hose rupture valves are fitted as standard to the boom and dipper cylinders as are quick fit hydraulics and a hammer/shear service.
Mike Bryan started up back in 1963 as an agricultural contractor, moving into plant and ground works ten years later. The company’s activities include agricultural and forestry contracting, road construction and maintenance, ground works for new buildings and hydro scheme construction, operating from its base in Perthshire.
CSM Sales Ltd headed up by Managing Director Calum Shaw based at Longman Industrial Estate Inverness is SMT GB’s utility dealer for the whole of the north of Scotland.
SMT GB markets Volvo Construction Equipment products which include wheeled loaders, articulated haulers, hydraulic excavators, Volvo utility equipment and Volvo road equipment products in Great Britain. There are eight strategically placed customer support centres, a dedicated National Used Equipment Centre and a network of utility equipment dealers to ensure high quality customer support is maintained throughout the country.
