Two years of smoot
Since purchasing its first ABG6870 wheeled paver eighteen months ago, paving contractors Colas (I.O.M.) Ltd are still impressed with the machine’s performance and smoothness of operation from its portfolio of paving contracts on the Isle of Man.
Having made an evaluation and appraisal of one of the first Volvo branded pavers two years ago on mainland Great Britain, Colas’ Director of Operations John Fayle and Contracts Manager Anton Crawley were suitably impressed enough to purchase their own, Volvo ABG6870 for the first time. “The machine’s relatively wide wheel base, turning circle and manoeuvrability were the first things that positively struck us,” commented Mr Fayle. “The weight and optimum width of the screed was another determining factor and this has proved beneficial for the quality of the overall finish on all our paving contracts. We can pave estate roads with ease with the standard 5 metre width screed and with the optional screed boxes we took with the machine, we can tackle widths of up to 6.2 metres.”
As the Island’s main private paving contractor, Colas (I.O.M.) Ltd has managed to keep the ABG 6870 constantly employed on an impressive portfolio of paving contracts since it was commissioned. Explains contracts manager Anton Crawley; “Thanks to the machine’s manoeuvrability and potential screed width we’ve taken on many projects ranging from Estate roads, private drives and car parks, to highway contracts for the Isle of Man Government
BEFORE
laying sub-bases, road bases, basecoats and top coats using either our own lime- stone material or granite from another quarry on the Island. The machine is a superb paver and delivers a very high quality finish, particularly with SMA material for hard wearing surfaces and apart from a few minor problems the machine has proved very reliable,” he said.
AFTER
The ABG6870 wheeled paver is the first machine to feature continuous independent traction control over all six wheels. Powered by a Tier III 122Kw engine, the operator is able to use the ‘Smart Power’ setting to vary the power output depending on the conditions of the application. Running nominally at just 1600rpm the ABG6870 boasts significantly low noise emissions besides being highly fuel efficient. The 6x6 ‘Smart Drive’ technology offers unparalleled traction. Even on the most difficult bases, tractive effort is automatically adjusted according to ground condition and the weight of material available in the machine’s 12 tonne capacity hopper. The machine demonstrates a class beating degree of manoeuvrability thanks to the ‘Active Steering’ feature with an inside turning radius of just 2.5 metres which was a distinct selling feature for Colas (I.O.M.). This coupled to individual suspension struts means the paver can overcome ob- stacles in one go that competitive models can only do after several complicated manoeuvres. This high degree of flexibility found on the ABG 6870 enables Colas to tackle a wide variety of contracts but especially in confined areas when working on urban roads, side streets and access drives etc.
Screed performance is a distinct feature on Volvo ABG pavers. The ABG6870 has a variable screed width of between 2.5 and 5 metres in standard configuration but can be fitted with optional extensions to provide a generous width of 9 metres. In Colas’ case optional extension boxes giving a maximum width of 6.2 metres have been specified which is ample for the
THE VOICE PAGE 46
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56