Aggregate Industries opt for Edbro once again

Lightweight CX14 tipping cylinders helping company to increase profits and cut CO2 emissions

AGGREGATE Industries specified their entire rigid tipping vehicle fleet with Edbro CX14 cylinders in 2012/13 and have announced that they will be doing the same in 2014.

The CX14, which was already the lightest 8x4 tipping gear on the market, has recently undergone a facelift which has shed a further 28kg of weight without compromising on tipping speed, lift capacity or reliability.

According to Edbro, Aggregate Industries have chosen to continue specifying the cylinders on all suitable vehicles thanks to their ‘fit and forget’ reliability and the increased payload the cylinder offers.

Edbro add that since the CX14 was launched three years ago, it has become the tipping hoist of choice for most fleet operators in the UK market when specifying an 8x4 tipping vehicle.

Thanks to its combined ram and tank design, and recent investment by Edbro in their manufacturing facilities, the CX14 now weighs just 449kg including oil. This makes it lighter than any other cylinder on the market that offers the same performance figures, which means that vehicle operators can increase payload with every tip and reduce CO2 emissions over the life of the vehicle.

Speaking at Tip-Ex 2013, during the launch of the second generation CX14, Jeff Stobbart, national logistics manager for Aggregate Industries, said: ‘We run a franchised fleet and pay the haulier a given amount per load. The more that they can carry the less CO2 it is for us and the more earnings for our franchisee.

‘Obviously, weight saving and profits have to come second to safety, so we also check the running pressures and maximum load figures of all the different cylinder options. As well as giving us the lightest cylinder and the extra payload, the CX14 still has the reliability and the rigidity of the heavier gear that we used to specify.’

According to Edbro, the CX14 offers safety factors in excess of 50% on buckling and has a safe lift capacity of 25 tonnes to the top. Prior to release, the model was subjected to stringent testing, including cycle tests, side-load resistance and over pressurization, and several operators took part in a four-year field trial.

The tests showed that the cylinder is able to operate reliably within the parameters of the UK market and offers operators real-life payload improvements and commensurate commercial benefits.

Mr Stobbart continued: ‘There is no point in specifying a cylinder with increased payload if it is going to fail prematurely and needs to be replaced. The effort that Edbro go to prior to release, coupled with their historical track record, gives us the peace of mind required to specify the CX14 on 100% of our new vehicles and reap the benefits of increased payloads.’