High-performance first for Castle Hill Quarry
UK’s first Doosan DL420-3 Stage IIIB wheel loader provides high productivity at Castle Hill Quarry
CASTLE Hill Quarry, located in Cannington, near Bridgwater, Somerset, has purchased the UK’s first Doosan DL420-3 Stage IIIB-compliant large wheel loader from the local authorized Doosan dealers Kellands (Plant Sales) Ltd, also based in Bridgwater.
With a bucket capacity of 4.2 cubic metres, the new Doosan DL420-3 is intended to meet a wide range of material-handling needs from loading and transporting granular material (such as sand and gravel) to industrial, mining and quarrying applications.
Stephen Ford, managing director of Castle Hill Quarry, said: ‘Since we purchased our first Daewoo 180LC excavator in 1991 and subsequent to the takeover by Doosan in 2005, the machines have come a long way. The main things that have impressed me about the latest Doosan Stage IIIB wheel loader are its power and fuel efficiency, which are big factors in the current climate.’
The DL420-3 is powered by the 13-litre Scania DC13 SCR six-cylinder diesel engine which delivers ‘best in class’ power and engine torque, with a maximum power output of 264kW at 1,800 rev/min. The wheel loader combines the high engine power output with new ZF transmissions and other features to minimize fuel consumption and provide exceptional performance, ease of handling, serviceability, durability and significantly enhanced operator comfort.
Like its predecessor, a Doosan DL400 model, the new DL420-3 wheel loader is driven by Tasha Giblet. A very experienced operator, she has also been impressed with the increased power of the new Stage IIIB wheel loader and the smooth performance of the machine.
‘Even though it has three different power levels – Eco, Normal and Power – I generally only use the DL420-3 wheel loader in the Eco mode because of the power it already offers, moving up to the Normal mode only for jobs such as digging into the heap,’ she explained. ‘This obviously helps to keep fuel consumption to a minimum and it takes me noticeably less time to top up the tank at the end of each day.’
She added: ‘Like the DL400, I like the joystick controls on the DL420-3 together with the all-round visibility and the operator comfort. The new machine also has excellent controllability, which is very obvious when I’m levelling with the bucket.’
Compared to the DL400 model, a new cab design on the DL420-3 loader features improvements both outside – such as better visibility due to a wider front glass section and an extended wiper blade area, better protection thanks to larger mud guards, improved hand rail and step designs and a new roof cover – as well as inside – such as the new instrument panel with integrated vehicle control unit (VCU).
