C&R Developments choose Sandvik Mobile Crushers
First published in the April 2023 issue of Quarry Management as A pair of top performers
New Zealand firm chooses Sandvik mobile machines for its first venture into crushing equipment
Two new Sandvik crushers from Porter Group have recently begun work for C&R Developments at a quarry in Kinleith Forest, in the Waikato region on New Zealand’s North Island. For their first venture into quarrying equipment, a QJ341 jaw crusher and a QH332 cone crusher were selected based on their reputation for quality and reliability in the field.
Watts Quarry is one of three quarries in Kinleith Forest that C&R Developments manage. The basalt extracted at the site is used to make road aggregate. C&R Developments specialize in earthmoving and work with quarries to remove overburden. Set up in 1998 by four brothers, Michael, Tony, Tim, and Simon Ross, the business employs 230 staff, including operators, engineers, surveyors, mechanics, and other technical staff. Based in Cambridge, in the heart of rural Waikato, C&R have a large and comprehensively equipped workshop for engine maintenance, repair, and refurbishment, as well as paint and panel work.
Until recently, C&R had only been removing overburden from the quarries but have now taken over management of the whole quarrying operation. The company owns and operates a wide selection of heavy plant, selected to take on some of the toughest and most demanding jobs. The latest acquisition of a Sandvik QJ341 mobile jaw crusher and QH332 mobile cone crusher are the company’s first items of crushing machinery.
‘We have been working in Kinleith Forest for the past four years, removing overburden, but this is our first foray into quarry management,’ said C&R contracts manager Gary James, who is responsible for the company’s quarry work throughout Waikato. ‘The forest is managed by Manulife (formerly known as Hancock Forestry Management). Because of our contract work in the quarry, we not only had an existing relationship with Manulife, but also had half the fleet we needed – the loaders and excavators. We just needed to get the crushing gear.
‘When it came to selecting a brand of crusher, we spoke to our peers in the industry to gauge what we should use, as they know a lot more about this stuff than we do. In the end, we opted for Sandvik, as they’ve been around for a long time and have earned a really good reputation for quality and reliability.’
Once C&R’s tender for the quarry management was accepted, Mr James went straight to local dealer Porters to get the crushers he needed. ‘I had been dealing with Johan at Porters for about a year in the build-up to our tender being accepted, and he was able to get us what we wanted at an affordable price and with the back-up and support we need,’ he said. ‘The jaw crusher was already in the country and the cone crusher was delivered five weeks later, which was not too bad given the current shipping situation.’
Sandvik say their QJ341 mobile jaw crusher features a large feed opening and high crushing speed, making it capable of delivering high outputs with excellent reduction ratios. The hydraulically adjustable jaw setting can be tailored to suit the application, whilst the reversible crushing action can relieve blockages and deal with sticky, problematic materials. The QH332 mobile cone crusher comes with a choice of six different crushing chambers and several different bush settings, making it the ideal choice for a wide variety of crushing jobs. The automatic setting regulation system optimizes production and also keeps track of liner wear, minimizing interruptions and maximizing uptime.
Along with their versatility and high performance, Sandvik say both crushers have been designed for minimum operator intervention and ease of maintenance, ensuring the safety of the operators.
In Kinleith Forest, the crushers operate in tandem at Watts Quarry, where they have been working since the beginning of November 2022, crushing up to 1,600 tonnes of rock per day. ‘We haven’t had them long so have yet to see their full potential. However, we have a couple of highly experienced guys on our team and they are very pleased with how they’re performing so far,’ said Mr James.
The article first appeared in Quarry & Mining Magazine New Zealand in February 2023 and is published here by kind permission.
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