Volvo loading shovels at Britaniacrest Recycling increase productivity
Britaniacrest Recycling Ltd of Hookwood, Surrey has recently added a Volvo L150H to its plant fleet with a second machine on order for the New Year as it ramps up production at its recently acquired transfer station at Warnham on the outskirts of Horsham, West Sussex.
The thirty year-old family run recycling business has had a long association operating Volvo loading shovels besides operating an extensive fleet of Volvo road going lorries, totaling 42 for its waste skip service and bulk haulage division. “The Volvo L150 is the optimum size of loading shovel for our recycling operations based here at Warnham, Gatwick and Storrington and we now operate two F-models a G and two H-variants with another on order for the start of next year,” explains co-director, Ray Foss Jnr. “Overall, the productivity of the machines, particularly the F-series and the recent H-model, has been particularly good. Our operators really appreciate the cab comfort and the responsiveness of the machines’ controls. We specify the machines with the long boom option which means they are able to load high-sided bulkers and tamp material down to optimize each load that goes to landfill,” he continues.
And testament to the quality and reliability of the resident loading shovels is one of the company’s L150F loading shovels purchase nine years ago. “This particular machine has clocked up 17,850 hours on the original powertrain components and apart from regular servicing, we’ve not had to put a spanner on it in all this time,” says Ray.
The latest addition to the fleet is a Volvo L150H equipped with long boom option and a heavy-duty direct mount 7.0m³ high-tip bucket which has been supplied by Ulrich Attachments Ltd. The machine benefits from Volvo designed and manufactured driveline components designed to offer considerable fuel savings every shift with a 13-litre 300hp Volvo stage-IV engine. One of the key features is that a maximum torque of 1,317Nm is achieved at just 1,450rpm and the resultant fuel savings are further enhanced by the Volvo Eco-pedal, encouraging the operator to run the machine at its optimum rpm in the engine’s torque. The L150H supplied to Britaniacrest has been further enhanced by the addition of L5 wheels and tyres and a heavy duty oil bath air pre-cleaner to protect the air intake to the engine when working in dusty conditions. Thus configured, the machine offers a practical load over height of 4.34m and a generous full turn tipping load of 14 tonnes.
“With the large capacity high-tip bucket, the machine is proving to be ultra-efficient in turning around high-sided bulkers in a short period of time, which is crucial as our production output increases,” says Ray Foss.
Established 24 years ago, Britaniacrest Recycling Ltd has steadily grown into one of the south of England’s largest recycling and waste handling businesses in the area. Covering the south of London down to the south coast of England, the family run business continues to be headed up by founder and Managing Director, Ray Foss Snr, supported by his wife Lesley, daughter Rachelle and three sons – Ray Jnr, Richard and Chris. The company offers a complete service including skip and roro hire, tipper hire, garb hire and muck away, road sweeper and low loader hire, waste transfer stations and recycled aggregate. Besides the latest Volvo loading shovels, Britaniacrest has recently purchased five new Volvo road going trucks and walking floor bulk handling trailers to support a new long-term contract, one of which is an FH750 6×4 tractor which was purchased to help out with the company’s low loader hire.
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.
