When Babcock recently unveiled the new range of Volvo ADTs, initially the A40, A45 and the all-new A50 – which marked Volvo’s first foray in the 50-tonne hauler segment, the Middelburg facility was not randomly picked. The branch sits right at the heart of the coalfields, an important market area where an existing large fleet of Volvo ADTs is operational and a large client base is active.
One such client is JCI Mining, a prominent mining contractor with a formidable project base, primarily in coal, and in other commodities. In fact, JCI Mining is headquartered right next door to Babcock’s Middelburg Branch. If ‘written in the stars’ was anything to go by, it was therefore predestined that JCI Mining would be the first recipient of the very first ten Volvo A50 units in southern Africa.
Abraham is thrilled to be the first recipient of the A50 units in southern Africa. “It is a momentous occasion to take delivery of the first Volvo A50 units in our region, but buying a completely new product comes with no local point of reference,” he says. “We relied on our relationship and trust in Babcock. For the past ten years, Babcock has become a dependable partner to our business and we have found that their projections are always accurate – be it fuel consumption or TCO at large. We therefore did not hesitate to sign on the dotted line and we have full trust in the capabilities of the A50.”
Central to the decision
The new A50 units join an existing large fleet of Volvo ADTs within the JCI stable. The company, confirms Abraham, already owns a large number of A30, A35, A40, A45 and A60 units. JCI has recently been awarded several new projects, and this necessitated the company to expand its fleet to service these new contracts. In addition, says Abraham, the company also needed to replace a portion of its ageing fleet, which led to this large-scale investment.
While the proven track record of the Volvo ADT and the back-up service from Babcock were key considerations, Abraham says the decision was largely influenced by a cost-evaluating model that the company, together with Babcock, ran to determine the economic viability of going the A50 route, taking into account all costs associated with the product throughout its lifecycle.
“We were approached by Babcock and Volvo with the specifications of the new product and we were intrigued by the information provided. We modelled the owning costs, projected running costs as well as projected fuel consumption, and the A50 hit a ‘sweet spot’, which led to the decision to purchase the first ten units,” says Abraham.
In such a competitive business environment, Abraham stresses that a lifecycle cost analysis is one of the most important considerations in any purchasing decision. Based on the numbers the company run on paper, the A50 offers the best cost-per-tonne and overall lifecycle costing.
In fact, Volvo Construction Equipment confirms that the A50 has hit a ‘sweet spot’, already showing excellent cost-per-tonne results in global trials. With a 45-t payload, the A50 delivers 10% more productivity and 8% greater fuel efficiency than the previous generation’s A45G FS. Service costs are reduced by up to 6% over 12 000 hours of operation due to simplified servicing, longer change intervals and easy component access.
“Our machines have worked just over 750 hours to date, on average, and the fuel consumption figures and projected efficiencies are very much in line with our expectations, which is pleasing,” confirms Abraham.
Big selling point
When Volvo CE first unveiled the machine to the global market, one of the key selling points of the machine was always going to be the full hydraulic suspension concept. This was definitely one of the key features that attracted the attention of Abraham and his team at JCI.
Pioneered by Volvo CE in 2007, the full suspension has proved to be a reliable system for the toughest of driving conditions. The A50 takes the concept to new heights as the only full suspension machine of its size class on the market. As a result, it offers a significant improvement in cycle times, an increase in hauler production per operator-hour and lower costs when compared to its standard suspension counterparts.
Volvo CE’s full suspension reduces vibration, noise and shocks, which can help prevent repetitive strain injuries to operators. A smoother ride on the hauler and road can reduce unnecessary maintenance costs.
“In general, the A50 is a first-class product with a host of cutting-edge features designed with the operator in mind, especially the accessibility into the machine and the ergonomics in the cab – one can easily recognise that a lot of thought has gone into the design,” explains Abraham. “Operator comfort for us is a big pull factor. A comfortable operator ensures increased productivity and efficiency through reduced fatigue and better focus.”
Close partnership
Investments in capital equipment are big-ticket purchases by their very nature, and Abraham reiterates the importance of dependable aftermarket support from the supplier to keep these machines running. For JCI Mining, the support for its mission-critical equipment has never been more important as it seeks to maximise availability and ultimately efficiency and productivity.
Abraham commends Babcock for placing value on aftermarket support, saying that the Volvo CE dealer in southern Africa goes beyond equipment sales. “They go the extra mile to meet our operational needs, which is very important for us because in our line of business, downtime is the enemy – and service is everything,” says Abraham. “Generally, we have built a good relationship with Babcock, based on trust, and testimony to that was the decision to buy a completely new product with no reference in the local market.”
To ensure asset longevity, uptime and peace of mind, JCI makes use of Babcock’s service level agreements. “From a maintenance perspective, we have service level agreements in place for all our Volvo haulers purchased from Babcock. We have been using this model for the past eight years and we have found it to be very effective, which is why we did not hesitate to include it in our A50 deal,” says Abraham.
David Vaughan, Executive Chairman of Babcock’s Equipment division, says aftermarket has always been a cornerstone of the company’s business model. This is driven by the understanding that customers not only invest in products, but more importantly in uptime, performance and peace of mind.
“In our market, customers want to focus on their core business of mining – rather than on equipment maintenance. Testimony to this is the ever-growing number of service contracts that we sign with customers, tailored to the level of aftermarket attention their operation needs for maximum uptime,” concludes Vaughan.
