First time Volvo for McFadyens Contractors
Civil Engineering, plant hire, drainage and quarry contractors, McFadyens Contractors (Campbeltown) Ltd have purchased their first piece of Volvo construction equipment, a G940 motor grader for long-term contracting work with the Forestry Commission.
Following an enquiry taken at the Scot Plant exhibition in March an order was placed on specification with the 21-tonne motor grader being delivered in September. The new G940 replaces an old Aveling Barford machine and has been put to full-time use on forest road maintenance for the commission throughout Argyllshire.
Powered by a Volvo 7.0-litre, variable-power low-emission engine, the available horsepower ranges between 175-215 hp within the three-range engine power control. Maximum torque is 1,023Nm at just 1,550rev/min. The engine is matched to the latest Volvo HTE840 transmission to deliver and sustain the right kind of power under load and as loads change, at all stages of operation.
The HTE840 transmission has been developed from the 8400 transmission, which has been a proven performer throughout millions of operating hours. With eight forward and four reverse speeds, this fully sequential direct-drive transmission has the correct speed for every operation. There are five speeds below 16.6km/h for all grading operations, a high-speed road maintenance gear, a snow-ploughing speed, and a gear for roading, giving a maximum speed of 45.4km/h. The HTE840 transmission provides rapid gear access through pulse shifting while ensuring that the operator always has an appropriately matched forward or reverse gear.
The Volvo G940 has been designed to match transmission speeds and power-to-weight ratios to ensure maximum blade-down pressure and blade pull. The G940 has an operating weight of 21.3 tonnes, a maximum blade pull of 12,819kg and a blade-down pressure of 8,145kg.
