Capital Equipment News January 2018

ARTICULATED DUMP TRUCKS

Bell Equipment says the economy of scale is one of the main reasons behind the progression in size of its ADT range because companies want to be able to move more dirt for less – to reduce their cost per tonne.

Terex Trucks says when an application calls for a true off-road truck, an ADT will always be preferable as this type of machine will be able to perform in all conditions.

load as that of a small rigid truck, but with off-road ability, then you have a winning solution, and that’s what Bell offers with the B60E.” Lundberg says there are several reasons why machine sizes are increasing, and these include maturation of mines, leading to de- mand for larger mining equipment to be able to work larger scale mines; product develop- ment and technology, enabling OEMs to pro- duce larger machines; and mines and mining contractors are under pressure to supply higher volumes at a reduced cost, and this can sometimes be achieved by using larg- er equipment. “Growing global demand for commodities is also leading to larger scale mining and demand for larger equipment in general,” says Lundberg. According to Miller, the increase in capaci- ty at the larger end of the range is being driv- en by customer needs. “Our customers want higher productivity, lower owning and oper- ating costs, a lower cost per tonne, which all contribute to maximising the revenue per tonne. A larger ADT is the firm favourite when there is an emphasis to move material quickly and cheaply,” he says. The same view is shared by Evertsson, who says the strong demand from customers to lower their production costs is leading to larger size articulated haulers. “The down- turn in the mining industry is accelerating this request as it could easily mean a profit or a loss at year end. Lower cost per tonne is

easier to achieve with higher payload on the hauling units,” says Evertsson. He also adds that the unavailability of suitable size com- ponents, for example, tyres, limited OEMs to develop larger articulated haulers in the past, and this has since been addressed. Benchmark size While the ADT has grown to reach the 60 t mark, there is general consensus that the 40-45 t is the most prominent ADT class size at this stage, demonstrated by the number of models in this range. Lundberg agrees, saying that the biggest market is the 40 t class ADT and believes that this will continue into the foreseeable future. According to Castle, Bell has introduced a 45 t truck to close the gap between its 40 and 50 t offerings. He reasons that the 40 t offering has always been the benchmark truck in any market and Bell Equipment has sold more trucks in the 40-45 t class than any other size. “All major ADT manufactur- ers now offer a 45 t in their range, and this demonstrates that the market may be moving towards the 45 t because of the economy of scale. It’s also a versatile truck in that it can be used in both mining and general construc- tion,” says Castle. Bell offers its B40E and B45E in this class size. Castle says a key value proposition of this class of ADT is the tyre size, which is the most commonly available in the market for general mining applications. The road

transportation of these models is also eas- ier than the bigger units and most site haul roads are designed to accommodate this size of an ADT. Miller says the 40-45 t class remains the largest volume driver in the industry and the Cat 745 is Caterpillar’s most popular model. “It’s our most productive articulated truck the world over and is used in large scale engi- neering projects such as the Panama and Suez canals, the Galas road construction in Egypt and in some of the world’s biggest min- ing ventures,” he says. Caterpillar offers the Cat 740 EJ and the 745 in this class size. The 740 EJ is said to be unique to Caterpillar, because it is the only unit on the market that ejects material instead of tipping. This can be very effective if there are overhead height restrictions, a requirement to spread material or to eject on grades. “The key value proposition of these models are the integration of performance, productivity and operator features,” says Miller. According to Evertsson, the 40-45 t size class is the most prominent class for Volvo CE globally. Due to component unavailabili- ty in the past, this class has been the upper end of the articulated hauler market for many years before the arrival of Volvo CE’s A60H. Volvo CE offers two models in the 40-45 t size class, the A40G with the Volvo D13 en- gine and 39 t payload, as well as the A45G with the Volvo D16 engine and 41 t payload.

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JANUARY 2018 10