Sirius Group investing in Volvo equipment
Company aiming to drive down fuel consumption with new Volvo ADTs and excavators
THE multi-discipline Sirius Group are investing more than £1.6 million in new plant and equipment to meet demand from a growing number of projects across the UK. Additions to the firm’s 50-strong fleet include five Volvo crawler excavators and three A25G articulated dumptrucks (ADTs).
Sirius have been Volvo customers for some time, operating a range of the Swedish manufacturer’s excavators and compaction machines. However, the three A25Gs are the company’s first Volvo ADTs, as Sirius look to improve fuel consumption and cut fleet emissions.
‘It is our first move into Volvo dumptrucks, recognizing that Volvo is the premier brand in the ADT market,’ said Pat Kane, group director at Sirius. ‘The overall deal was very attractive and we’ve found that Volvo are ahead on fuel efficiency. The latest E-series excavators also offer big fuel savings over the D series.’
Operations and plant manager Stuart Kirk added: ‘The A25G is a very versatile machine and it is the right size for our job sites.’
All of the Volvo machines have been supplied with customer service agreements and Volvo’s Uptime Services proactive monitoring system. This allows the company to monitor fuel consumption, idling time and working mode operation, to maximize productivity and minimize downtime and fuel use.
As well as the three ADTs, Sirius are taking an EC220E excavator, two EC250Es, an EC300E and their first EC380E, which, at 38 tonnes operating weight, is the company’s heaviest earthmover to date.
Sirius are also set to install Trimble machine-control systems on a selection of the excavators for the first time, having already proven the benefits of 3D machine control on some of their sites.
‘We already use machine control on all of the dozers in our fleet and, as a business, we’re always looking to be at the forefront of what’s available in terms of machine technology and engineering,’ said Mr Kane.
With a turnover in 2015 of more than £31 million, the Sirius Group are currently enjoying growth in many areas of their operations. The company has more than 35 active projects across the UK, in brownfield remediation, demolition, soil stabilization, geotechnical improvement, earthworks and site infrastructure construction works.
Sirius are also increasingly active as developers in their own right, following a construct, own and operate model for medium-scale wind turbine and large ground-mounted solar PV developments.
‘2015 was our most successful year ever as a Group, and with our recent contract awards we are well placed to build on this success, expand our services and deliver controlled growth for the year ahead,’ said Mr Kane. ‘Our latest plant investment is a key part of our planning and strategy to help us achieve this.’
Sirius will take delivery of the their new Volvo dumptrucks and excavators over the coming months and say they will be used exclusively on Sirius Group sites.
