Modern Mining October 2017

COVER STORY

Volvo’s newly launched 60-ton A60H articulated dump truck is proving to be a big hit with customers in South Africa and neighbouring countries, with 20 units having been sold thus far by Babcock, the Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) dealer for Southern Africa. “The A60H clearly fills a gap in the market,” comments David Vaughan (left), Managing Volvo’s A60H hauler proves

Director of Babcock’s equipment business. “We’re seeing incredibly strong interest in it and we believe we will soon be securing more sales.”

V aughan adds that Volvo’s new EC950E crawler excavator, which ranks as the largest excavator that Volvo has ever produced, is also attracting strong interest. “We’ve sold three EC950Es and they’re already out in the field working for customers. More- over, we’re fielding a large number of enquiries from potential customers who are impressed by its market-leading specifications and by the fact that it is a perfect match for the A60H and indeed many other machines.” The A60H and the EC950E were introduced to the local market in May this year at a launch function held at Babcock’s new state-of-the- art Middelburg facility, built at a cost of R100 million. This was the first opportunity for

customers in the Southern African region to view the machines, which were first unveiled at last year’s bauma show in Germany. The A60H, which has a payload of 55 met- ric tons (tonnes) or 61 short tons, is the world’s largest true articulated hauler and delivers up to 40 % more productivity than Volvo’s best- selling hauler, the A40, which offers a payload of 39 tonnes. It has several features which will be familiar to current series A40 operators, eliminating the need for major retraining of operators. It is powered by a Volvo D16F engine offering a maximum power output of 495 kW, can travel at speeds up to 55 km/h and has an on-board weighing system as standard. The A60H is a major step forward for Volvo and takes the articulated hauler concept

The Volvo A60H embodies the full articulated hauler concept and provides total versatility so that the entire jobsite can be accessed and steeper gradients climbed.

18  MODERN MINING  October 2017