Western Australian quarry contractor Marc Veccia employs two new Hyundai R380LC-9 crawler excavators that have not only made the tough job of rock breaking more comfortable, but also allowed him to break larger, more difficult rocks.
Operating his own quarry contracting business, Sofdan Proprietary Limited trading as Southern Traxcavator Services and MAS Contractors since 1996, Marc employs four staff and has the contract to support the rock breaking, stripping and general earthworks programs at seven quarries in the Perth metropolitan and regional districts. The quarries are owned by multinational companies Boral Limited, Holcim Australia and Hanson Australia, as well as Australian company BGC (Australia).
He bought his first Hyundai R380LC-9 crawler excavator 19 months ago and now owns two of them. Both these crawler excavators allow Marc to break larger rocks and grow the services he provides to the quarries. He was using 35 tonne excavators earlier but their performance was not up to his expectations.
He comments that the Hyundai R380LC-9 crawler excavators box above their weight, allowing him to take up smaller jobs as well as the bigger jobs.
The excavators have given Sofdan the opportunity to go up to a larger rock breaker, enabling them to take on oversized rocks up to 50, 60 or even 80 tonne.
Marc has a high level of quarry experience and a reputation for being thorough and quick at his job. Having reliable machinery is critical to his business. He explains that quarries expect them to get through about 1200 tonne of rocks each day.
The robustness and reliability of the two R380LC-9s allow Marc’s operators to work at a quick pace.
According to Marc, the Hyundai excavator has good breakout for loading trucks. For instance, they can put a couple of articulated trucks underneath when they are loading during stripping operations. If the quarry’s main digging drill breaks down, the R380-9 can be used to keep production up. The excavator also goes in and does the job in the event the 65-70 tonne diggers at some quarries break down.
Hyundai excavators also increase operator comfort with operators reporting less fatigue. One of the biggest advantages of the R380LC-9s is their stability, which ensures the whole machine is well balanced. Good stability also increases operator comfort especially in 12-hour shifts.
The Hyundai cab is spacious enough to cater to tall operators and is designed for excellent operator visibility with broad windows and screens. The R380LC-9 provides a comfortable working platform with its spacious well-appointed ROPs cabin.
The R380LC-9 is also an easier machine to service than other excavators. Hyundai’s proprietary remote management system, Hi-mate, provides access to service and diagnostic information, promoting preventative maintenance to reduce downtime.
The Hyundai R380LC-9 crawler excavators are available in Australia from Hyundai Construction Equipment Australia .
