Another Volvo excavator for R Tough Plant Hire

Scottish demolition firm adds new Volvo EC380E machine to its fleet of excavators

SINCE establishing his plant hire and contracting business nine years ago, managing director Robbie Tough has always associated his company with Volvo CE products. ‘Our very first Volvo machine was an EC140B followed by an EC210 unit and larger EC360 in 2008,’ he commented. ‘Overall, the Volvo products certainly take a lot of beating when it comes to operator comfort.’

With the business expanding its general plant hire activities and winning larger, long-term contracts, including bulk earthmoving and work in the landfill, waste and demolition sectors, R Tough saw the need to increase their fleet with a mid-sized excavator. 

Following an appraisal of the marketplace and a competitive tender process, an opportunity to visit this year’s Volvo Days event in Eskilstuna, Sweden, helped clinch the deal for a Volvo EC380E excavator. 

‘Having the chance to scrutinize the 40-tonne machine in detail, operating the machine and talking to the experts at Volvo’s customer centre endorsed what we already knew about the product and so far we haven’t been disappointed with our latest investment,’ commented Mr Tough.    

The EC380E is equipped with a 306hp, 13-litre Stage IV Final-compliant engine that is well matched to the machine’s hydraulics, which are controlled by an advanced system that provides on-demand flow and reduces power losses within the circuit.

Volvo’s ECO mode is said to contribute to significant fuel savings without any loss of performance in most operating conditions, as well as increasing controllability for more precise performance. 

Volvo’s integrated work mode system also offers the excavator operator a choice of I (Idle), F (Fine), G (General), H (Heavy) or P (Power max), according to the task at hand. Providing fast cycle times, the EC380E offers a forward reach of 11.0m, a maximum digging depth of 7.3m and a load-over height of 7.2m.