Having previously only distributed SDLG wheel loaders, motor graders and vibratory rollers, Babcock recently expanded the SDLG offering with excavators. While SDLG started manufacturing excavators back in 2010, these were previously been not available for the local market. Following the recent introduction of these excavators in South Africa, Amatshe Mining was among the first customers to take delivery of the first SDLG excavators in the local market.
Established in 2017, the company has its roots in gold mining and operates opencast operations in the West Rand. Understandably, the two directors – Izak van Zyl and Eddie Milne – both come from a gold mining background. In August 2018, the company bought its first aggregate operation in Durban Deep, Roodepoort, which is in fact an extension to its gold mining operations. As part of the rehabilitation process, the company turns waste material from its gold operations into aggregates for construction.
In February 2023, the company further expanded its quarrying footprint with the acquisition of Firmabuild Aggregates which has been a leading manufacturer of sand and stone on the West Rand for the past two decades. The operation is located within the same footprint as Amatshe Mining’s gold mining right, where the company basically mines gold from legacy dumps. Here, the company also processes legacy material to produce various sizes of aggregate, including G5-G9 sub-base material, 13 mm and 22 mm concrete stone, dump rock and gabion stone, builder’s mix, as well as plaster and building sand, amongst others.
It is at this operation where the new SDLG excavators are hard at work, deployed to dig loose rock, load trucks and feed processing plants. The seven new machines, which have all been delivered this year, include five 21-tonne (t) E6215H and two 35-t E6335F units. “We ordered our first machines in November 2023, a 21-t and a 35-t, which were delivered in January this year. Subsequently, we have added four more 21-t machines and one 35-t unit,” explains Milne.
Why SDLG?
According to Milne, one of the central pillars to the buying decision was the existing relationship with Babcock. In fact, Milne, in his previous capacity, recalls buying his first ever machine from Babcock back in 2015, a Volvo EC480 excavator, which to date has clocked over 30 000 hours and still counting. In addition, Amatshe Mining was already aware of the SDLG quality, having previously run the Chinese manufacturer’s wheel loaders.
“Our association with the SDLG brand dates back to 2018, when we purchased our first two SDLG front-end loaders, a FL958 and a FL968, before we expanded the fleet over the years. With 20 units running at our operations, we have one of the largest SDLG wheel loader fleets in South Africa,” Milne recalls. “We have found the SDLG offering to be competitively priced, yet it delivers the same production as some of the same size premium solutions we have run before.”
Babcock’s Rob Baker, SDLG equipment sales, agrees, saying that the range is fast becoming recognised as a high-quality, value offering in southern Africa. “The market is clearly recognising the many advantages the SDLG range offers – competitive pricing, high quality, durability and reliable aftersales support delivered by Babcock through its extensive footprint in the region,” says Baker.
“In our view, this is a good quality, cost-effective, value product with a ‘premium’ touch to it. Given that Volvo Construction Equipment, our major principal, owns 70% of SDLG, one can easily recognise the premium Volvo design heritage in this line of excavators,” adds Mark Senyard, Product Manager –SDLG at Babcock.
Beyond expectations
When Quarrying Africa visited the site, the SDLG excavators had been operational for between three and six months, but had already impressed with their performance and efficiency. Most of the 21-t units are deployed to load loose material onto tipper trucks, which in turn feed the processing plants.
In addition, these machines are also deployed in the pit, digging and loosening material for loading, as well as feeding in-pit mobile crushers and screens. Despite the daunting nature of this application, Milne has been impressed by the E6215H’s breakout force, which he says is on par with some of the premium solutions in the 21-t size category. In fact, he says, the machine is punching well above its size and performing beyond expectations.
“Given its compact nature, the 21-t machine is well-sized for our operations. We extract material from narrow reef bands. With its 1 m³ bucket, it is easy to do selective mining in such a narrow working environment. The 21-t class size machine is also ideally suited to load the 10 m³ tipper trucks that we use for hauling material from the face to the processing plants – it fills a 10 m³ truck with four passes,” says Milne.
Apart from performance, the Amatshe Mining team has been impressed by the range’s fuel efficiency. To provide context, Van Zyl says the 35-t E6335F is consuming about 14 litres per hour, which is some eight litres less than a same-sized excavator the company ran before, while achieving the same level of production. Meanwhile, the 21-t machines are consuming 12-13 litres of diesel per hour which, according to Van Zyl, is still better than the previous machines.
Commenting on what makes the range so fuel-efficient, Senyard says the SDLG excavators come with an electronically controlled unit pump which adopts a high-pressure fuel supply system to deliver high injection pressure, sufficient combustion and good power. The engine electric control unit (EECU) controls the fuel supply throughout the process and matches the relationship between the load and the output of the main pump, ensuring both sound performance and fuel consumption. This contributes to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption compared with the previous SDLG generation.
Support
In addition to the performance and efficiency of the SDLG excavators, both Milne and Van Zyl are happy with the support from Babcock, from machine sales to aftermarket. “Babcock has proven to be a true partner to our business. They collaborate closely with us to find fitting solutions to our needs, be it financing or the machines themselves,” says Milne.
Babcock’s Senyard says the company has established a dedicated sales team to look after the SDLG range. “The brand still benefits from the same Babcock aftermarket support that our customers have become accustomed to,” concludes Senyard.
Eddie Milne, Director at Firmabuild Aggregates, explains the reasons behind the recent acquisition of SDLG excavators from Babcock.
