Relief for Central Sulawesi roads thanks to Volvo Pavers
Road contractor PT Sapta Unggul is relying on a ABG5820 paver from Volvo Construction Equipment to make the roads safer and more accessible in Palu, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Since 2016, the ABG5820 has paved 124 kilometers of roads in the region.
On September 28, 2018, Palu, Central Sulawesi, was hit with a 7.5 magnitude quake that affected millions and killed thousands of people, along with damaging homes and infrastructure. Originally on site to support the Indonesian government’s effort to improve the transport network in Palu, an ABG5820 tracked paver from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is now deployed to help rebuild roads. To help with relief efforts, Volvo CE’s parent company, the Volvo Group has donated US$50,000 to UNICEF.
As part of the effort to improve road conditions in Palu and the rural surrounding areas, road contractor PT Sapta Unggul is relying on the ABG5820 tracked paver to lay asphalt for new road surfaces. The roadbuilding project started in 2016.
“There is great demand for smoother and safer roads in Palu and its surrounding areas,” said Ruddy Chandra, director of PT Sapta Unggul, a road contractor based in Palu. “Volvo’s ABG5820 paver offers high paving efficiency. Plus, the job is easier thanks to the paver’s electronically-controlled travel drive, which ensures uniform propulsion, straight-ahead travel and exact cornering.”
On site since November 2016, the paver works between eight to ten hours daily and has already paved 124 kilometers of road in the region.
“We really appreciate the machine’s high paving speed and easy-to-control system because we have to close the roads for some projects, so it was important for us to complete the project on time,” Chandra said. “We really appreciate the machine’s high paving speed and easy-to-control system because we have to close the roads for some projects, so it was important for us to complete the project on time,” Chandra said.
The ABG5820 has an 8-meter paving width and an electronically-controlled independent travel drive fitted to each crawler unit. This system monitors track movement and controls the motor response accordingly, ensuring both straight line and fixed radius paving. PT Sapta Unggul purchased the ABG5820 paver from PT Intraco Penta Prima Servis (IPPS), Volvo CE’s distribution partner for the Sulawesi region.
PT Sapta Unggul owns a fleet of over 50 heavy construction equipment, including five Volvo machines: a ABG5820 paver, a SD110B soil compactor and three EC55B pro compact excavators.
“We chose to invest in Volvo construction equipment because we are confident in the full customer support IPPS offers,” Chandra said.
