Chepstow Plant International order 99 new Volvos

Company continues to grow fleet with new excavators, wheel loaders and articulated haulers

CHEPSTOW Plant International (CPI) have signed a deal with SMT GB for the supply of 99 new Volvo machines for their mineral, aggregates and earthmoving fleet.

The assortment of machines includes 20 excavators ranging from the EC250E to the EC480E (25–50 tonnes); 20 wheel loaders from the L120H up to the recently introduced 24-tonne, 5.6 cubic metre capacity L260H; and 59 articulated haulers, of which nearly half consist of the ever popular A30G model.

‘Opting for premium brand equipment helps us and our customers in many ways,’ explained John Corcoran, managing director of Chepstow Plant International. ‘Primarily, it benefits our firm through safety, uptime, fuel efficiency, residual value and image, and I’m pleased to say that Volvo equipment now accounts for in excess of 60% of our fleet.

‘With significant and continued growth along with new business opportunities presenting themselves, it’s vital we can rely on performance and service back-up, along with advances in machine telemetry and operating data. To this end, we are at the vanguard, working proactively with SMT GB and Volvo CE in helping to shape and enhance safety in our equipment.’

For example, with the latest batch of Volvo articulated haulers, Chepstow Plant International have collaborated with SMT GB and Volvo CE in developing a means of recording the number of ‘fail tip’ situations that can potentially arise on site utilizing Volvo’s CareTrack telemetry capability.

All of the new articulated haulers will be equipped with a Volvo-designed inclinometer. If the operator attempts to tip the load when the hauler is sitting at a 9º+ lateral angle, the body will not raise and the attempted tip will register as a ‘fail tip’ or near miss occurrence. This will be recorded by CareTrack and will lead to subsequent investigation and corrective action being taken.

‘The good news is that since we started equipping our articulated haulers with this system we have witnessed a significant decrease in unsafe tipping,’ continued Mr Corcoran. ‘However, it’s dangerous to assume that by fitting this safety device the problem goes away

‘Part of the equation is supporting the use of such systems with rigorous and continued training to eliminate complacency, and again we are at the forefront of providing training programmes for both our own and our clients’ operators.’

Apart from safety, fuel burn and tonnes-per-litre moved are equally important issues for CPI’s customers, and when it comes to rehandling materials, Mr Corcoran considers Volvo wheel loaders with OptiShift to be among the leanest in the industry in terms of fuel efficiency, whilst for material transport, he believes Volvo’s articulated haulers are very much the preferred option.

‘Volvo ADTs are hard to beat for operator comfort, durability and residual value,’ he said. ‘And the latest E-series has an increasingly important role to play for our mineral and aggregates clients. When it comes to litres-per-tonne moved, there is little that comes close to the efficiency of a Volvo ADT.’