Is the opinion of Stuart Holmes, plant manager for Day Group Ltd, as the company purchases more Volvos for its recently commissioned IBA facility at Greenwich, South London.
A new Stage IV compliant EC250E weighing in at twenty five tonnes has been put in charge of re-handling deposited IBA (Incinerator Bottom Ash) after it has settled during its three week maturation process, whilst a new L150H loading shovel complete with 4.4m³ bucket has been purchased to re-handle the product once it has passed through the state of the art screening plant at the Greenwich facility. “Adding these two machines is part of the multi-million pound investment we have made here at Greenwich,” explains Stuart Holmes. Construction of the new processing facility at the site started in February last year and was completed with the plant being operational at the start of 2017. “We are well on target to bring in some 100,000 tonnes of IBA to Greenwich for processing per annum,” he continues.
“The new EC250E has been equipped with our own bespoke design for the application in a challenging environment. We’ve specified the short dipper arm to give maximum breakout force, an hydraulic hitch and a selection of buckets which can be interchanged to deal with the varying nature of the material,” explains Stuart. “The machine itself has been coated in two pack lacquer on the superstructure panels as well as the cooling package, to prevent accelerated wear. The other major modification which Kokurek has done for us is in extending the superstructure chassis rails to allow an 800L water tank to be sandwiched in between the counterweight and the engine compartment. This has been added to feed a Dynaset HPW water suppression system which has been piped down the length of the equipment and used as an additional means of providing dust suppression inside the shed.” Other features on the EC250E include a full LED lighting package, reverse and side mounted cameras and full autolube system.
The excavator is powered by a Volvo eight cylinder engine developing 213hp. Operators can select the best work mode for the task at hand, ensuring optimum performance and fuel efficiency. Modes include: I-idle, F-fine, G- general, H-heavy or P-power, with the machine automatically setting the appropriate engine speed for the work mode and ECO mode is a new feature that works in G to H (or P) mode. Pump flow is controlled for combined digging and swinging operations to reduce the flow loss through the overload relief valves, while maintaining digging power and maximum swing torque. Eco mode provides better fuel efficiency without loss of performance in most operating conditions.
A larger EC300E was purchased earlier in the year by Day Aggregates which started work when the Greenwich Plant was commissioned but since the arrival of the EC250E this unit will undergo similar treatment in terms of anti-corrosion protection and will then be deployed elsewhere.
The Volvo Care Cab on both excavators 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.
Once the EC250E has done its job of breaking up the compacted material, it is then loaded by a resident Volvo L180F into the primary feeder The IBA is then conveyed into the state of the art screening plant where it is first passed through a revolving trommel which helps to break it up and separate the larger material . The process separates the material into various sizes whilst removing both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The ferrous metal is sold into the UK scrap market whilst the non-ferrous metals are sold for further refining either in the UK or on the continent. The remaining material is sold as a recycled aggregate.
This processed material is handled by the newly delivered L150H loading shovel which is powered by a 13 litre 300hp Volvo Stage IV engine. One of the key features is that a maximum torque of 1317Nm is achieved at just 1450rpm 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 curve. The machine is equipped with a 4.4m³ rehandling bucket.
“Once again we’ve opted for the Volvo brand as the machines have demonstrated that they are reliable and well on top of the demands we place on them. They are a good tool for the job,” comments Stuart Holmes. “In addition, the CareTrack and Matris GPS monitoring systems allow remote interrogation of how the machines are being utilised by the operators on site. All this coupled to the fact that SMT GB is head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to product support, are important reasons why we’re staying with them,” he continues.
Founded in the ‘40s by the late John Day, Day Aggregates, a division of Day Group Ltd supplies over five million tonnes of construction material per annum. With a series of strategically located railheads and a network of factory concept processing plants located in London and the south-east, Day Aggregates processes construction and demolition waste for re-use in a variety of construction applications, provides a range of aggregates for both major and smaller construction projects and now has a significant presence in the Incinerator Bottom Ash market in these strategic areas.
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.
