Volvo A40G’s increase production at Patersons Quarries Ltd
Three new Volvo A40G articulated haulers have been supplied to Patersons Quarries as production output is increased at the Company’s Burrowine Moor Quarry located near Bogside in the Kingdom of Fife.
The trio of A40G haulers replace two five year old A35F’s and an A30E bringing fleet rationalisation and a significant increase in production output to the Burrowine facility. “Over the years we’ve had a good experience operating Volvo articulated haulers in our quarrying and landfill operations and their pedigree is sound in terms of reliability and performance with good residuals when it’s time to trade,” comments Managing Director Tom Paterson. “We have high expectations for these latest A40G haulers from Volvo as they take over at Burrowine Moor Quarry.”
Besides their main duty of hauling silica sand from the dig zones in the quarry to the processing plant, the new haulers will also be utilised to move overburden and rock as fresh seams of material are exposed ready for extraction. All three A40G’s have been supplied complete with Volvo’s Silver Customer Support Agreements that provides Patersons Quarries with a tool to budget for and track, with full visibility, the running costs of each truck. Regular reviews with Volvo’s local support centre at Stirling ensure each machine is monitored to ensure its performance is managed in a cost effective way.
With a carrying capacity of 39 tonnes and a heaped capacity of 24m³, the Volvo A40G has a maximum speed of 57kph. Powered by the latest Tier IV final Volvo 16 litre engine developing 347kW net horsepower, it features high torque at low engine speeds, resulting in good fuel efficiency, high performance, quicker engine response and less wear, i.e. long service life. The whole powertrain is designed and purpose built ensuring the best use is made of the available power and torque, even in tough working conditions. The engine in the drivetrain is matched to a torque converter with built in lock-up function and fitted with a fully automatic fast adaptive transmission.
The drivetrain features Volvo’s Automatic Traction Control (ATC) system as standard, which prevents operators leaving their haulers permanently set in all-wheel drive mode, even when not needed, for example on good or paved roads, when only 6X4 drive is required. ATC automatically disengages the rear axle when not needed; eliminating tire skid when cornering and reducing tire wear. However, when ATC system does sense slippage, the longitudinal differential lock and the 6X6 clutch are engaged together: this gives the hauler the optimum traction in all conditions.
Established in 1973 with a quarry located to the south east of Glasgow, Patersons Quarries Ltd has become one of the largest independent extractive companies in the UK providing a whole range of products including sand and aggregates, recycled aggregate, and silica sand for the glass making industry. In addition the company has block and brick manufacturing facilities and ready mixed concrete plants. It also specialises in the waste handling industry with landfill and recycling sites all supported by a large comprehensive transport fleet.