Liebherr trucks ‘stack up the savings’

A Leeds plant hirer has broken ranks with its usual supplier to invest in Liebherr’s articulated dumptrucks. They’re quicker, more comfortable, and great on fuel says the customer...

Fresh from a landing a major contract Howard Plant Hire needed more truck capacity. The simple solution would have been to stick with the company which has supplied most of its large fleet of excavators, dozers and 30-tonne ADTs. But, mindful of increasing fuel costs and keen to see what was on offer from other manufacturers, Craig Coleman, Howard Group’s plant manager, decided to cast the net further.

‘I wanted to look at the wider market to see what was about and what sort of fuel figures could be realistically achieved. We spoke to contacts in the industry, to regular truck operators and the feedback was that there were just two manufacturers worth investing in at the 30t class. One of them was Liebherr.’

The new contract is to remediate former industrial land on the outskirts on Leeds in readiness for construction of a new technology centre. However, with most of company’s truck fleet already earmarked for other projects, the reinforcements were needed. Talks were held with several dealers but it was a meeting with Andy Foster, Liebherr Great Britain’s area sales manager, and subsequent conversations on specification that sealed the deal for four TA 230 G8 trucks. ‘We didn’t even take a demonstration machine,’ said Coleman. ‘We had seen the videos and liked what we saw and as Andy talked us through the build and specification we knew we had made the right decision.’

While the trucks are still at the ‘running in’ stage, they’ve already got the thumbs-up from senior management and operators alike. ‘They are quicker across the ground than the older machines and are more comfortable,’ added Coleman. ‘The lads absolutely love them.

‘They are also giving us good fuel consumption so far,’ he continued. ‘We will keep an eye on that through the Liebherr’s LiDat telematics system. When we initially spoke with Andy the quoted fuel figures of just 14.98 litres per hour seemed low but so far they are achieving this. If we can save just one litre of fuel per hour per truck, the savings start stacking up straight away. We have also taken out a comprehensive service agreement which means Liebherr will look after all the maintenance to ensure they stay in first-class working condition. It just all makes financial and operational sense for us.’

 ‘As we talked through the build and specification we knew we had made the right decision.’ - Craig Coleman, Group Plant Manager

Powering the TA 230 G8 is a 12-litre, 6-cylinder D956 engine supplying 360hp and, riding on 750/65R25 tyres and heavy-duty axles, the truck offers ground clearance of almost 600mm. Given suitable ground conditions, top speeds of 57km/h forwards and 16km/h in reverse can be achieved while times for tipping and returning the 18.1m3 skip are 12 seconds and 8 seconds respectively.

All four trucks ordered by Howard Plant – part of the Howard Civil Engineering Group – run on the wider tyres option and were supplied without tailgates for hauling a mixture of soils and concrete from the former building’s foundations. To increase operator safety, two of the trucks are fitted with additional spill guards to the top of the skips to prevent damage from larger lumps.

 ‘If we can save just one litre of fuel per hour per truck, the savings start stacking up straight away’ - Craig Coleman, Group Plant Manager