Brett Concrete invest in new JCB loaders
Concrete specialist takes delivery of two JCB 427 wheel loaders for materials handling duties in Kent
BRETT Concrete – a division of the Brett Group – have purchased a pair of new JCB wheel loaders for material-handling duties at two of their batching plants in Kent. The business originally purchased a JCB 427 model for use at its Royal Tunbridge Wells site, but was so impressed with the performance of the machine that it has since bought a second model to work at its Canterbury site.
Both models are used to move fine and coarse aggregate from bays into steel bins and trucks as part of the concrete production process, although the latest machine has been specified with a special narrow bucket and greater reach for more effective loading of volumetric trucks. Operating in short bursts, each machine will handle around 40,000–50,000 tonnes per year.
Aaron Bartram, operations manager with Brett Concrete, said: ‘We had not been impressed with the reliability and service from our previous manufacturers, so we did a desk-top evaluation of the models available in this category.
‘Before making a decision we liaised closely with dealer Greenshields JCB and visited the JCB factory. We were incredibly impressed with the set-up, the commitment of the workforce and the build quality was clearly evident. It gave us complete confidence that JCB could deliver and made us proud to support a British manufacturer.
‘Since the first machine arrived both myself and the operators have been incredibly impressed. They are performing very well, are extremely comfortable and the fuel economy is excellent. Another feature which is useful for us is the JCB LiveLink telematics system, through which we can measure productivity, fuel consumption and manage our servicing requirements.’
The JCB 427 is powered by a 6.7-litre Cummins QSB engine, which is Stage IIIB (Tier 4 Interim) compliant without using a diesel particulate filter (DPF) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). It delivers improved fuel consumption on earlier models together with a 9.4% increase in torque.
Key features of the machines include: a variable-geometry turbocharger that delivers improved machine response at low rev/min; an engine shutdown mode for enhanced fuel efficiency; an intelligent clutch cut-off system; automatic differential lock on the front axle; and a full-colour LCD monitor.
With a total of 19 quality-controlled plants across the south-east of England, the Brett Concrete division has an annual production capacity in excess of 500,000 cubic metres and offers a full range of concrete solutions, from standard products through to high-performance mixes and specialist concretes.
