New Volvo A30F for JD Plant Hire
Airdrie-based firm takes delivery of new F-Series articulated hauler from Volvo Construction Equipment
LANARKSHIRE-based JD Plant Hire Ltd are no strangers to running Volvo articulated haulers having run an A25E for several years in their plant fleet alongside a mix of excavators and dozers.
Company proprietor Dougie McCracken (pictured on right) says there is no doubt in his mind that the Volvo articulated hauler is the best truck to go for on the market. ‘Our A25E has performed very well and proved to be highly productive.’
‘As we were in the market to change we decided to stick with Volvo for these reasons, but increase the size of the truck to the A30F, which is what our customers are now asking for – especially with the floatation tyres and full tailgates. The other positive point is the residual value of the machine when it’s ready to trade in, as we’ve just discovered.’
The A30F hauler from Volvo meets the requirements of Stage IIIB emissions legislation, being powered by an electronically controlled, six-cylinder, 265hp turbo-charged Volvo V-ACT diesel engine. This features high torque at low engine speeds, resulting in good fuel efficiency, high performance, quicker engine response and less wear.
Purpose built by Volvo, the engine is designed to exactly match the Volvo drivetrain, ensuring the best use of power and torque, even in tough working conditions. It is matched to a torque converter with built-in lock-up function and fitted with a fully automatic fast adaptive transmission. The rest of the Volvo designed and built powertrain has been reinforced to cope with the higher torque output of the engine.
Volvo say the F-Series hauler is not only more environmentally friendly, it is also more fuel efficient than the E-Series machine, by up to 4% – a significant achievement given that the E-Series was the class leader in terms of low fuel consumption.
With a carrying capacity of 28 tonnes and heaped capacity of 18.1 cubic metres, the Volvo A30F has a maximum speed of 53kph. The truck supplied to JD Plant Hire Ltd is equipped an optional cantilever tailgate for maximum load retention.
The A30F is fitted with Volvo’s CareTrack telematics system as standard, allowing remote monitoring of a wide range of machine functions (location, fuel consumption, service reminders etc) and thus optimizing customer operations.
JD Plant Hire Ltd are based in Airdrie and hire their range of equipment, with operators, to major civil engineering contractors throughout the whole of Scotland and northern England. The family-run business has been in existence for the past 19 years and evolved from the family’s previous business of owning and operating several opencast coal sites in Scotland’s Central Belt.
