L220D for John Wainwright

John Wainwright & Co. Ltd have taken delivery of a Volvo L220D loading shovel for their face-loading operations at Moons Hill Quarry, near Shepton Mallet.

Powered by a Volvo 12-litre low-emission engine developing 350hp (nett), the L220D features Volvo's own transmission and axles with self-adjusting oil-circulation-cooled wet-disc brakes. It is configured in long-boom format giving a load over height of 3.58m under the tipped 4.6m3 v-lip bucket. The combination of low-emission engine, load-sensing hydraulics and Volvo's torque-parallel linkage means the L220D easily loads the resident 55-tonne hauler in just five passes.

Moons Hill Quarry is the only basalt quarry in the Mendips. Kevin Sargant, quarry manager, comments: 'There is no set strata to the material, which can be anything from large slabs to fines. Our benches are quite confined as well, so we wanted a shovel that was compact yet had plenty of power and good breakout force.'

One area of concern was the combination of water and abrasive stone. Wainwright's looked at all the possible tyre/chain combinations and decided the most cost-effective solution was to fit Pewag chains all round.

In addition to the L220D, a Volvo L150D with 3.8m3 rehandling bucket has been ordered for stocking-out and rehandling duties at the quarry.