Ben Miller gets “in the mood” with Volvo

by Nick Drew | Tue 08 Dec 2015

Ben Miller gets “in the mood” with Volvo

Well known Scottish owner/operator Ben Miller has recently upgraded his hydraulic excavator taking delivery of a brand new high specification Volvo EC140ELM model.

Ben who is also well known for his demonstrating skills on the machinery show circuit with tilt-rotator manufacturer Steelwrist, had previously operated a B series Volvo before opting for a Caterpillar 312D machine when he went out in business on his own. The Cat machine which was also fitted with a Steelwrist had served him well, but following his time in the cab of a Volvo EC140E at Plantworx earlier this year, Ben was convinced that it was the machine for him next time around.

The 14 tonne class machine in its LM guise is basically running on 16-20 tonner rollers, chains and final drives and in this instance Ben has opted for 900mm track pads. Ben has also gone for the hugely versatile two piece boom arrangement and a 2.5 dipper stick. On the end of the dipper is a Steelwrist X18 tilt-rotator, S60 front pin lock with gripper and a Steelwrist S60 front pin lock above it. Other additional items include 8 extra LED working lights and Volvo’s X1 and X3 fully proportional hammer/shear and rotation lines.

Ben has also invested in a Steelwrist 950mm digging bucket which is all Hardox in construction and specified Esco Ultralock teeth at the same time.

A number of modifications were done to the machine by Lammer Engineering to get the machine ready for the rigours of forestry work which Ben is heavily engaged in. This work included adding side bumpers, lower screen guard, full screen Marguard protection for flail work, 15mm “Ski Belly” plate to the undercarriage, light protection on the boom and a LED amber light bar on the roof with cage.

Talking to the Digger Man Blog about these modifications Ben said, “I guess I’m slightly biased as Lammer Engineering is my dad's business, but their work is superb and it enabled me to be part of the process from start to finish as we share the same yard. It's something that they're doing quite a lot of at the moment along with bespoke attachments such as my V and draining buckets which has generated a lot of interest in the work they do”.

Talking about the stunning new machine’s performance Ben said, “So far I'm absolutely over the moon with it. Loads of power but really good on fuel, very smooth to operate and the cabs standard spec in my opinion is in a different league to everyone else's. I've only really been doing shear and grab work since I got it but I expect it'll be just as good with a bucket on it”

Look out for a full in depth feature on Ben and his new machine by Paul Argent in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine.

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