by Nick Drew | Wed 21 Mar 2018
Morris & Perry invest in new Volvo A45G
Independent quarrying company, Morris & Perry Quarries Ltd, has taken delivery of a new Volvo A45G articulated hauler for its Gurney Slade facility near Radstock, in the heart of the Mendips.
Looking to add another large capacity hauler as production output at Gurney Slade quarry increases, the company evaluated the marketplace. “We needed to add an articulated hauler, as opposed to another rigid truck, to assist in overburden removal and managing waste material in areas of the quarry where a rigid simply won’t go as well as hauling prime material from the face,” explains Assistant Quarry Manager, Oliver Dormer. “We boiled our choice down to two manufacturers and settled on the Volvo A45G following a very successful demonstration and it’s already proving to be a good decision,” he continues.
Apart from the articulated hauler’s ability to get into areas where rigid haulers would struggle, Morris & Perry are already benefitting from significant fuel savings with their new A45G. “On average, we are saving 70 litres of fuel per shift compared to our resident rigid haulers, even though the A45G is carrying the same payload,” says Oliver.
The latest G-series haulers from Volvo meet the requirements of Stage-IV final emissions legislation, being powered by electronically controlled, six-cylinder turbo charged Volvo V-ACT diesel engines. These feature high torque at low engine speeds, resulting in good fuel efficiency, high performance, quicker engine response and less wear, i.e. long service life. Purpose built by Volvo, the A45G’s power unit develops 476hp and a maximum torque of 2525Nm at just 1050r/min and is designed to exactly match the Volvo drivetrain, ensuring the best use of power and torque, even in tough working conditions. Delivering exceptional fuel efficiency, it is matched to a torque converter with built-in lock-up function and fitted with a fully automatic fast-adaptive transmission. The rest of the Volvo designed and built powertrain has been reinforced to cope with the higher torque output of the engine.
With a carrying capacity of 41 tonnes, the A45G hauler can attain a maximum speed of 53kph for fast and productive cycle times. The hauler is also fitted with CareTrack as standard, which is Volvo’s telematics system that enables remote monitoring of a wide range of machine functions (e.g. location, fuel consumption, service reminders, etc.) thus optimizing customer operations.
Morris & Perry Ltd is a family-owned independent quarrying company located in the heart of the Mendips. Quarrying at Gurney Slade can be traced as far back as the middle of the 19th century. In more recent times, the company has incorporated an asphalt and a concrete batching plant to service the immediate vicinity and the counties of Somerset, Wiltshire & Dorset.
Find out more about Volvo's G Series articulated haulers in this promotional video.