John Wainwright’s Volvo EC750E Excavator a solid performer
A new seventy-five tonne Volvo EC750E has been delivered to John Wainwright & Co Ltd’s Moons Hill Quarry in the Mendips following a detailed review of the market.
Looking to replace a similar sized excavator specifically to clean down exposed faces of blasted basalt in Moons Hill Quarry, Quarry Manager, Ben Dormer, started the process of finding a suitable replacement. “We carried out quite a lengthy and detailed review of the marketplace,” says Ben. “Overall we were looking for efficiencies in terms of production and fuel consumption, a long reach specification but still with a large enough bucket to load material into our haulers with a reduced number of passes. Equally important in our decision making process were the robust safety features specified on the machine coupled to a competitive, commercial package,” he adds.
Part of this process included a visit to the Volvo Live it. Dig it event back in March by Assistant Quarry Manager, Alastair Gibson, then a visit to see the machine in action at a china clay pit in Cornwall. “Our first impressions of the EC750E were extremely positive,” says Ben. “We concluded that the machine was a solid performer and very well balanced which is important for our operations here at Moons Hill,” he continues.
Wainwrights consequently settled on the Volvo EC750E from SMT GB specifying the 7.7.m boom and 3.5m dipper arm offering a generous reach of 12 metres. The machine has been equipped with a 4.0m³ heavy-duty rock bucket and is able to dispatch the quarry’s forty-tonne haulers in one less pass than its predecessor. The machine has also been specified with an array of safety features.
Most strikingly, the left hand catwalk has full height guardrails beside the boxing ring skirting the top of the superstructure. Machine operator, Mike Greenham, who has been employed by Wainwrights for the last 40-plus years, has safe ingress and egress to the cab thanks to the addition of hydraulically operated access steps. Other features include a full fire-suppression system and fast refuelling point which can be accessed from ground level.
At the heart of the EC750E, a 16-litre Stage-IV V-ACT engine developing 533 nett hp operates in conjunction with an advanced-mode control system ensuring the maximum possible hydraulic horsepower available is delivered at a constant engine speed under varying load conditions. A maximum torque of 2570Nm is achieved at just 1350r/min and this, in conjunction with the machine’s advanced hydraulic system, ensures maximum fuel efficiency is achieved through every work cycle.
John Wainwright & Co Ltd has been quarrying quality basalt ay Moons Hill Quarry in the heart of the Mendips since 1891. The company produces all types of aggregate and road surfacing material serving Somerset, Wiltshire and beyond. The new EC750E joins a mix of other equipment including Volvo loading shovels, articulated haulers and smaller excavators.
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.
