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Sat 01 Mar 2014

Volvo EC140DLCM brings ‘shear’ delight to Simon Richardson Contracts Ltd

Specializing in contract work for the Forestry Commission and land maintenance on large estates Mr Richardson started out with a fourteen tonne EC140BLC. It wasn’t long before a second EC140B was acquired and soon after that, he traded up to sixteen and eighteen tonne models and now operates a fleet of seven excavators, four of which are Volvo’s. Constantly looking for opportunities to provide a quality service and niches in the forestry industry, Simon Richardson has added a sixteen tonne Volvo EC140D LCM to his fleet together with a bespoke ‘Tigercut 300’ tree shear attachment purchased from Exc@V8 Total Plant Solutions Ltd based in Cumbria. The LCM variant features a heavy duty undercarriage providing greater clearance between the tracks and the machine’s superstructure adding almost two tonnes of additional weight to the conventional EC140D model. To provide good floatation in boggy areas of forest plantations Mr Richardson specified 900mm track pads for his new machine. “The combination of the heavy duty raised undercarriage and wide track pads gives the EC140D very good floatation characteristics which is essential for the work we do,” he says. “We’ve made quite a few local adaptations to the machine as well including heavy duty belly plates, additional track guides, protection on the dipper arm and for the check valves at the boom base as well as guarding around the operators compartment,” continues Simon. The majority of the adaptations were undertaken by Carlton Engineering based in Moffat. To finish the machine off, Simon Richardson has added additional LED work lights to the cab, superstructure and equipment. At the end of the dipper arm is a Tigercut 300 800kg tree shear which has been supplied to Simon Richardson by Cumbria based Exc@V8 Total Plant Solutions Ltd. The shear was originally designed for smaller equipment but has been developed in conjunction with Simon Richardson to handle up to 15” tree trunks on a 14 – 16 tonne excavator. The idea behind utilising this type of equipment is to fell the more ‘immature’ trees within established plantations that have either fallen to disease or are likely to cause the spread of disease to other areas of forest land and thus negating the need to use more expensive bespoke harvesting machines for the purpose. In addition, this method of felling does away with the de-limbing process associated with conventional harvesters since the tree is taken down ‘in-tact’. With the latest technology in heavy duty wood chipping machines and their ability to process larger limbs and trunks as well as the brash means that forest areas can be cleared far more quickly and effectively making it easier for the re-planting process. Working off of the standard hammer/ shear circuit the shear generates a force of 80kN and simply uses this force to grab, compress and shear trees at their base - and in their entirety. According to Paul Heaton, the operator on the new EC140DLCM, the machine is absolutely right for the job. “It’s certainly well balanced and the extra weight from the undercarriage bringing it to just over 16 tonnes makes it very stable indeed,” says Paul. “In full flight I can process around 136 trees in an hour and on a good shift that means about 1000 trees in total and the machine’s very economical as well using only 8 to 9 litres of fuel per hour,” he continues. “My Volvo’s have been first class machines to operate and the reliability has been fantastic,” comments Simon. “I’m really impressed with the fuel economy, power and performance of my new EC140DLCM and the combination of machine and this new shear concept definitely has huge scope in the market going forward.” The EC140DLCM is powered by a Volvo four cylinder D4H Stage IIIB engine developing 114hp which contributes to an excellent performance being well matched to the machine’s hydraulics. The machine’s ‘Integrated work mode control’ provides high efficiency, rapid dig cycles and low fuel consumption.  This advanced mode control system ensures the maximum possible hydraulic horsepower available is delivered at a constant engine speed under varying load conditions. Hose rupture valves are fitted as standard to the boom and dipper cylinders as are quick fit hydraulics and a hammer/shear service. Check out this video featuring this impressive piece of kit in action.
Simon Richardson Contracts Ltd is based in Langholm, east of Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway. The company employs ten highly skilled machine operators specifically in tune with the forestry industry. In addition to tree felling and thinning, the company undertakes road and track maintenance within Forestry Commission and private land, tree re-planting projects together with land ploughing contracts prior to re-planting.  

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