GAR Contractors Ltd of Highbridge near Bridgwater in Somerset continues a long tradition of owning and operating Volvo machines with the addition of a new twenty two tonne EC220E crawler excavator.
Setting himself up in business precisely twenty years ago proprietor Gary Reasons started out offering plant for hire besides carrying out general ground working contracts. Since then the company has evolved to specialise in laying and finishing large concrete projects for clients erecting industrial buildings, warehousing as well as agricultural buildings and equestrian centres in and around the Somerset, north Devon and Bristol area.
As far back as 2003, Gary Reasons was one of the first advocators of the then newly launched Volvo BL61 backhoe loader. “My first machine was a backhoe loader and I’ve always believed in the concept of this type of machine,” says Gary. “In my opinion if a backhoe loader is in the hands of an experienced operator it’s probably the most versatile machine you can have. I was pretty impressed with our first BL61 and we ended up running three over the years and it’s a shame it’s no longer available,” he continues.
But all was not lost as besides running backhoe loaders, Gary Reasons needed 360° excavators for his business as larger projects were undertaken. “We had a specific job in Bristol where we needed a larger machine for muck shifting and some demolition work so on the strength of the after sales service we’d experienced from Volvo we bought a second hand EC210C and that’s been a pretty good machine too,” says Gary. “But it’s the back-up we get when we do get the occasional problem and in our experience Volvo always stands by any issues and gets them sorted so that was probably the main reason for opting for the new EC220E as our work load continues to increase,” he continues.
The new Stage IV compliant EC220E developing 174 nett horsepower joins the existing EC210C and a smaller fourteen tonne EC140D purchased a few years back. “Apart from the reliability and good all-round performance, my operators certainly appreciate the comfort and features in the cab,” continues Gary. And they have every reason to since the Volvo Care Cab offers a large roomy interior with plenty of leg room and foot space. The excellent all round visibility is enhanced by pressurized and filtered cab air supplied by a 14 vent, climate control system. An adjustable easy to read LCD colour monitor provides real time information of the machine functions, important diagnostic information and a wide variety of work tool settings. The monitor also doubles as a monitor for the rear view camera. Other creature comforts include air suspended and heated seat and blue tooth connection.
Monitoring of the machine’s vital functions and whereabouts is made easy thanks to Volvo’s CareTrack telematics system which is a standard feature on the latest models from Volvo. CareTrack provides operational data remotely via the internet, including fuel consumption and idle time, all helping to reduce cost of ownership and maximise utilisation.
GAR Contractors Ltd specialises in general groundwork contracting, some demolition work but in particular, concrete laying and finishing including the use of steel fibres for certain projects requiring this specialist service. The company covers the whole of Somerset, North Devon, Avon and Wilshire.
Volvo Construction Equipment markets 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 and a network of utility equipment dealers to ensure high quality customer support is maintained throughout the country.
Find out more about the Volvo EC220E: https://www.volvoce.com/united-kingdom/en-gb/vcegb/products/excavators/crawler/ec220e/
