New Volvo wheeled paver for Worksop Tarmacadam

Road surfacing contractor chooses Volvo P6870C model for its front-line operations

ESTABLISHED in 1977 by managing director Barry Connor, Worksop Tarmacadam Co. Ltd have a tradition for providing a quality service to an established portfolio of clients in the commercial, private and house-building sectors. The company recently took the step of replacing an eight-year-old Volvo ABG473 through a competitive tender process.

Colin Connor, operations director for Worksop Tarmacadam, explained: ‘A key deciding factor in selecting the new Volvo P6870C wheeled paver was the quality of the product and the engineering built into it. We will be operating the paver as our front-line machine for many years to come so we wanted to assure ourselves we were buying quality and a product that would stand the test of time.’

The new P6870C machine maintains many of the features originally introduced on the ABG6870, including continuous independent traction control over all six wheels. Powered by a Volvo D6 Stage IIIB-compliant 175hp engine, the P6870C is further enhanced with EPM II – an electronic paver-management system which incorporates a ‘Settings Management’ system allowing the operator to store up to 12 parameter settings for major functions such as screed temperature, tamping and vibrating, conveyor, auger and paving speeds.

The machine retains other features such as the ‘Smart Power’ offering optimum power for the job in hand, together with 6 x 6 ‘Smart Drive’ technology for superior traction. The tractive forces are automatically adjusted according to the weight of material in the machine’s 12-tonne capacity hopper.

The machine demonstrates a high degree of manoeuvrability thanks to the ‘Active Steering’ feature with an inside turning radius of just 2.5m.

‘Since putting the new paver to work we have been immensely impressed with the machine’s manoeuvrability, especially in tight areas which we find pretty much common place in many of the jobs we undertake,’ said Mr Connor.

Screed performance is a distinct feature on Volvo pavers. The P6870C paver has a variable screed width of 2.5–5m in standard configuration but can be fitted with optional extensions to provide widths up to 9m. The machine has a theoretical output of up to 700 tonnes/h at varying screed widths and depths.

Operator comfort and user-friendliness were other important factors for Worksop Tarmacadam’s road crews. For example, the steering wheel, which offers sensitive control of the machine, can be placed in various positions around the EPM II control panel.

‘There has been a significant leap in technology on the paver compared to the old ABG473, but my operating crews have adapted to the new paver very well and appreciate the machine’s low noise levels, manoeuvrability and easy-to-use controls,’ commented Mr Connor. ‘Underpinning all of that is the excellent level of service support we get from the team at Volvo, which was another reason why we’ve decided to add their latest wheeled paver to our fleet.’