Modern Mining May 2019

COVER STORY

being in huge demand globally with the articulated haulers, in particular, becoming virtually an international currency. It all goes to prove the old adage that ‘If it sells well new, it will sell well used’. Certainly here in South Africa, we’re finding that we don’t get a chance to trade in too many machines as many customers are electing to sell their Volvo units directly to overseas buyers.” Another strength of the Volvo range is the commonal- ity of components across the machines and the fact that Volvo CE manufactures virtually all

Volvo CE manufacturing facility at Motherwell in Scotland, Vaughan says that only three units have thus far been sold in South Africa, all to alluvial diamond miner Steyn Diamante, but emphasises that there is considerable interest in the machine. “We have been demonstrating the R100E to various strategic clients and it’s been very well received. It is a high-capacity hauler for medium to large-scale mining proj- ects which are far and few between at the moment but we’re nevertheless expecting a very substantial order to be concluded in the near future,” he states. As this article was being written, the three R100Es ordered by Steyn Diamante had just been delivered to Steyn’s Schutsekama mine in the Northern Cape and were about to enter ser- vice, alongside the many other Volvo machines that the company has in its fleet. These include three Volvo A60Hs and the new 50-ton class L350 wheel loader, Volvo’s largest wheel loader to date, which is equipped with the latest tech- nology dedicated to reducing fuel consumption and engine emissions. Good as Volvo CE’s machines are, they would probably not have carved out the sub- stantial market share they currently enjoy in Southern Africa without two further factors coming into play – Babcock’s ability to provide the highest standard of aftermarket service through its 12 branches throughout Southern Africa and the wide range of financing options it can provide to customers and potential cus- tomers through Volvo Financial Services and EKN, the Swedish export credit agency. “We are a full service provider with no gaps in our offering and customers can be assured of not only high-quality machines but unrivalled technical backup as well as financial packages tailored to their needs,” Vaughan concludes. 

key componentry itself. “With the exception of the A60H, which uses an Allison transmission, all Volvo’s articulated haulers have a drive line – the engine, transmission, drop box and final drives – that is manufactured by Volvo CE in house,” says Sheppard. “This means that each component is ideally matched to the others in the drive train.” He notes that Volvo is one of the largest sup- pliers of industrial engines in the world, with its engines being deployed in a wide range of applications including earthmoving machines, trucks, buses and marine equipment. Discussing the present business environ- ment, Vaughan says that Babcock is continuing to do well despite the constrained conditions in the mining and construction sectors, the source of most of its sales. “Our Volvo A40G articulated hauler continues to be our most popular machine and we have sold more than 200 units in 2018,” he observes. “We’re also very pleased with the reception the A60H has enjoyed. We now have well over 30 units out in the field – including nine in Namibia and ten in the DRC – working with around 10 customers. “Our loaders are also selling very briskly, particularly the L150, L180 and L220 models, and in fact we’ve just received an order from a single customer for twenty L150s. As regards the excavators, here again sales are good. Our new- est model in the excavator range, the EC950E, is proving particularly popular with around 14 units now operational with customers – which is a very creditable number given that it is a 90-tonne class machine for heavy mining appli- cations, which is a limited market.” On the subject of Volvo CE’s new 100-ton (91-tonne) capacity R100E rigid hauler, which was launched globally in April last year at the

The high productivity and fuel efficiency of the Volvo 480D excavator – this one is working at the Schutsekama diamond mine – have made it popular with mining customers.

“Our loaders are also selling very briskly, particularly the L150, L180 and L220 models, and in fact we’ve just received an order

from a single customer for twenty L150s.”

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