New Volvo L150H for H&S Contractors

Kent-based firm rekindles association with Volvo loaders with 25-tonne addition to its hire fleet

ESTABLISHED in 1972, H&S Contractors Ltd specialize in operated and non-operated hire of medium-sized plant from 20 tonnes upwards, which includes loading shovels, excavators and articulated haulers.

The company’s new Volvo L150H wheel loader joins an existing fleet of some 16 competitive makes of loading shovels, however the company is no stranger to owning and operating Volvo equipment.

‘Some while back we had experience of operating Volvo loading shovels in our hire fleet, and with regards to the articulated haulers, we’ve been running them for a good many years and rate them very highly,’ said plant manager Keith Rogers.

‘Historically, we have run and continue to operate the Volvo A25 E and F models, but earlier this year we added two new A30G’s to the fleet, as we see this size of truck becoming more and more popular with our customers.

‘Knowing the reliability and performance of the trucks, coupled with Volvo’s ability to support the product, we decided to look at the latest H-series L150 and reintroduce Volvo loading shovels to the fleet.’

The new L150H benefits from Volvo-designed and manufactured driveline components and a 13-litre, 300hp (224kW) Volvo Stage IV engine, which is said to offer considerable fuel savings each shift.

Significantly, a maximum torque of 1,317Nm is achieved at 1,450 rev/min, and the resultant fuel savings are further enhanced by the Volvo Eco pedal, which encourages the operator to run the machine at its optimum rev/min in the engine’s torque curve.

‘We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the performance and reliability of the new machine so far,’ said Mr Rogers. ‘Our operators and customer’s operators have positively commented on the smoothness of control and performance in addition to the low noise emission of the L150H.’

Meanwhile, with a carrying capacity of 28 tonnes and heaped capacity of 17.5 cubic metres, the Volvo A30G also meets the requirements of Stage IV final emissions legislation, being powered by an electronically controlled, six-cylinder, 354hp (264kW), turbocharged Volvo V-ACT diesel engine.

Purpose built by Volvo, this engine features high torque at low engine speed and is designed to exactly match the Volvo drivetrain, ensuring the best use of power and torque, even in tough working conditions.

All three new machines are 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), thus optimizing customer operations.

‘Since 80% of our total fleet is generally out on non-operated hire, features such as CareTrack are important as they help us monitor the usage of the machines in terms of hours operated and their locations,’ said Mr Rogers.

In addition, the machines are covered by Volvo’s Blue Service Agreement, which will ensure they are regularly maintained by qualified Volvo service engineers using genuine Volvo parts at the correct service intervals, irrespective of where they might be operating in the country.