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Develon wheel loaders a success for ASH Group

Two new Develon DL420CVT-7 wheel loaders purchased by ASH Group for use at the company’s state-of-the-art Aggregates Wash Plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire have brought huge benefits including significant fuel savings and increased safety. The new wheel loaders were supplied by Blue Machinery (Central) Ltd (Blue Central), based in Northwich, Cheshire, the Authorised Develon Dealer for North-West England and North Wales.

Compared to the machines they have replaced, the new wheel loaders are using 4L/h less fuel (11L/h instead of 15L/h) mainly due to the Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) on the DL420CVT-7. They are also the first in the UK to be equipped with Develon’s Transparent Bucket safety system, the first of its type in the world. The Transparent Bucket is a system that allows the wheel loader driver to see blind spots in front of the bucket on the machine, using the monitor in the cab.

John Dennan, Director of ASH Group said, “We are very impressed with the fuel economy and high performance of the new Develon wheel loaders and our drivers really like to work with them. With the new Transparent Bucket system on the machines, we have also enhanced safety for both the drivers and the rest of the workforce at the wash plant. The new wheel loaders align with our commitment to sustainability and safety and with their help, our wash plant will continue to provide much needed high value recycled sand and aggregates for the UK construction industry. The operation is designed to produce up to 600,000 tonne per annum, ensuring maximum resource recovery and to divert even more waste from landfill.”

Fuel savings
The DL420CVT-7 is equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT), the result of a permanent combination of a hydraulic technology and a mechanical technology which provides a smooth and continuous speed variation. It allows the DL420CVT-7 to automatically transition from hydrostatic power at low speed to the mechanical system to operate at higher speeds. The complete driving range, forwards and in reverse, is controlled by the CVT system. Low engine speeds ensure a high efficiency and the highest driving comfort irrespective of the traction speed. The power splitting continuously variable technology facilitates moving off softly and hydraulically. Furthermore, with the CVT, a fuel saving of up to 25% can be achieved.

Like all Develon’s DL-7 wheel loaders, the DL420CVT-7 wheel loader is said to provide significantly enhanced operating comfort, an enhanced steering system and advanced electronic controls. Using the Develon Smart Key system on the control panel in the cab, the operator can start the machine using a keyless device, helping to prevent machine theft. The Smart Key system provides remote door control, door lock and unlock, door release, searching and other functions.

The cab has a Grammer Actimo XXL seat with fully adjustable horizontal and vertical suspension settings, a pneumatic lumbar function and seat heating as standard. There is a 3-point safety belt with alarm icons on the new Doosan Smart Touch 8-inch touchscreen monitor and on the gauge panel, which features a new layout and anti-reflective glass.

Excellent visibility
Even without the Transparent Bucket system, the cab on DL-7 wheel loaders like the DL420CVT-7 offers a superior field of vision for the operator, reckons Develon, with blind spots around the cab minimised and a 14% larger glass window area compared to the previous DL-5 models.

John Dennan added, “Owing to blind spots caused by the buckets on wheel loaders, the area in front of the machines has been considered an area of major concern in terms of safety. With the Develon Transparent Bucket function, however, our drivers can easily check the blind spots in front of the bucket via the cab monitor, to increase safety and prevent accidents.”

The innovative Transparent Bucket system records images in front of the wheel loader with top and bottom front-loaded cameras and shows combined images on the cab monitor in real time using a curved projection method. Another advantage of the Transparent Bucket system is that it can significantly improve work efficiency by providing a forward-view perspective for the driver during loading/unloading or when carrying materials such as aggregates, sand and soil.

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