Castle Hill Quarry, located in Cannington near Bridgwater in Somerset, has purchased the UK's first Doosan DL420-3 Stage IIIB compliant large wheel loader from the local Authorised Doosan dealer, Kellands (Plant Sales) Ltd, also based in Bridgwater. With a bucket capacity of 4.2 m3, the new Doosan DL420-3 wheel loader is intended to meet a wide range of material-handling needs from loading and transporting granular material (such as sand and gravel) to industrial, mining and quarrying applications.
Stephen Ford, Managing Director of Castle Hill Quarry, said: "Since we purchased our first Daewoo 180LC excavator in 1991 and subsequent to the takeover by Doosan in 2005, the machines have come a long way. The main things that have impressed me about the latest Doosan Stage IIIB wheel loader are its power and fuel efficiency, which are big factors in the current climate. The reliability and ease of maintenance of the DL420-3 model when combined with the parts and service back up available from Kellands, provides us with an ideal all round package."
Lower Fuel Consumption
The new Doosan DL420-3 wheel loader is powered by the 13-litre Scania DC13 SCR 6-cylinder diesel engine delivering 'best in class' power and engine torque, with a maximum power output of 264 kW at 1800 rpm. The new large wheel loader combines the high engine power output with new ZF transmissions and several other features to minimise fuel consumption and provide exceptional performance, ease of handling, serviceability, durability and significantly enhanced operator comfort.
Like its predecessor, a Doosan DL400 model, the new DL420-3 wheel loader is driven by Tasha Giblet. A very experienced operator, Tasha has also been impressed with the increased power of the new Stage IIIB wheel loader and the smooth performance of the machine. She said: "Even though it has three different power levels - ECO, NORMAL and POWER - I generally only use the DL420-3 wheel loader in the ECO mode because of the power it already offers, moving up to the NORMAL mode only for jobs such as digging into the heap. This obviously helps to keep fuel consumption to a minimum and it takes me noticeably less time to top up the tank at the end of every day. Like the DL400, I like the joystick controls on the DL420-3 together with the all-round visibility and the operator comfort. The new machine also has excellent controllability which is very obvious when I'm levelling with the bucket."
High Operator Comfort
Compared to the DL400 model, a new cab design on the DL420-3 loader features improvements both outside - such as better visibility due to a wider front glass section and an extended wiper blade area, better protection thanks to larger mud guards, improved hand rail and step designs and a new roof cover - as well as inside - such as the new instrument panel with integrated vehicle control unit (VCU).
The control panel has been redesigned to allow the operator to choose the information they want on the display. Using the Main Menu, the operator has access to several functions and machine information. Pressure, temperature and engine speed can be monitored in real time. Detailed operating information is available via the Special Menu.
By relocating the reservoir for the wiper water to the outside of the cab, space inside has been increased, providing more foot room. The air conditioning system is regulated automatically by a temperature sensor.
Over 20 years of Doosan machines
Stephen Ford oversaw the purchase of the first Daewoo 180LC tracked excavator from Kellands in 1991 and this machine is still used around the quarry and in good working order. The quarry also runs a Doosan DX480LC excavator purchased together with the DL400 from Kellands in 2008, which works mainly at the quarry face as a primary cutter.
Quarrying started on the site at Castle Hill in 1903, supplying the local area with aggregates. Castle Hill Quarry is still delivering aggregates throughout Somerset using the company's own fleet of lorries, and can supply anything from rock armour down to 0 mm to 4 mm fine.
The quarry also specialises in agricultural limes, which are high in calcium carbonate and used on farms to neutralise acidity in the soil and control PH levels. These are delivered over the whole of the South West, even covering the furthest parts of Cornwall.
With depots in Bridgwater and Camelford in Cornwall, Kellands (Plant Sales) Ltd is the authorised Doosan dealer for the whole of South West England, covering the counties of Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall, North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and Gloucestershire.