Mount Alford Lime has recently taken delivery of a new Hyundai R290LC – 9 for use in its lime works quarry based in South West Canterbury. Paul Smith, the managing director of Mt Alford, says he is very pleased with the delivery. ”Having a fleet of Hyundai’s already, we were looking forward to the addition of the new Dash 9 model to complement the rest of the fleet”.
Paul is talking about the Hyundai R290LC-7 and the R450LC-7 that comprises his digger fleet. The company has also purchased a Hyundai HL757 wheel loader, a HL770-7 wheel loader and a HL780-7 wheel loader, all for use in the lime works. “We like the Hyundai brand, particularly for use in the lime works – the performance is great and the reliability fantastic.”
As well as the Hyundai brand, Mount Alford Lime has also purchased an Astra ADT40 Dump Truck. The Astra dump truck has been down in the lime works for the last year where it has been working alongside the Hyundai fleet that is performing well in the quarry conditions. Fast cycle times, high capacity body and low owning and operating costs amounts to the lowest cost per ton payload of any articulated dump truck in New Zealand, making the Astra a very welcome addition to the fleet.
Mount Alford Lime has been operating for the last three and a half years, based at the lime works at Mount Alford, South west of Methven. Being centrally located by Mount Hutt is a great location for supplying materials from North to South Canterbury. Currently the lime works is producing track lime for dairy farms as well as agricultural lime for fertiliser, which means Mt Alford moves in the vicinity of 90,000 tonnes per year. Even though the weather has affected production in the last eight to 10 weeks, figures are still currently up for this year, leaving a gap in their fleet of excavators – hence the delivery of the Hyundai R290LC-9.
With the Dash 9’s advanced technology features, it is a delivery that Mount Alford was looking forward to.
“Having purchased all of our earthmoving fleet from Eagle Equipment purchasing another Hyundai was a straight forward decision”, says Paul. “However, the features this model possesses should make it a purchasing option for other contractors as well.”
The Dash 9 range is designed around smooth productivity and fuel economy with tighter and smoother controls. The range also has extended maintenance intervals, meaning more hours between oil and filter changes and less servicing requirement – meaning less downtime. New engines are fully Tier 3 compliant making them more environmentally friendly as well as cleaner burning. The advanced CAPO (computer Aided Power Optimisation system tunes engine and pump power to optimum levels. Multiple mode selections as available for various work loads, maintaining high performance while reducing fuel consumption.
Features include auto deceleration and power boost. The system monitors engine speed, coolant and hydraulic oil temperatures with display error codes on the monitor. Adding to the reduction in running costs is the warranty and set of service options that Eagles can provide. There is a 6000 hour warranty with no extra added costs, and fixed price service and repairs and maintenance contracts are also available. These contracts can be for a term of 48 months so if there are any cost increases in labour or parts, contractors do not need to worry about these added costs during that time period.
This means they can concentrate on what they do best – their core business. This alone makes the purchase of one of these machines an asset to any company but there are more added benefits than just the engine. The on board diagnostics in the Dash 9 series allow the operators to keep a close eye on what is going on in the operation of the machine with further benefits being obtainable with Hyundai’s remote management system – Hi-Mate. This web-based satellite means that a link is established from the machine back to its home base, and monitoring of things like fuel consumption, over revving and productivity are possible from anywhere in the world.
Hi- Mate enables an end user to remotely evaluate machine performance, access diagnostic information and verify machine locations at the touch of a button utilising GPS satellite technology to ensure the customers are provided with the highest level of service available. This allows most contractors the freedom of knowing exactly what is going on with their machines for no added cost as a two year subscription to this service is included in the base price of the machine.
The comfort of the operator has not been forgotten either.
The features of the newly configured cab have been strengthened to meet ISO standards and the optimised hydraulic system gives the operator more control over the bucket movement while not comprising the high speed of the machine. The operator can also make use of the climate controlled air conditioning, rear view mirror and a cell phone integration system that allows a mobile phone to be plugged into the audio system, giving ‘hands free’ operation.
All of these features made purchasing a new R290LC-9 excavator a very viable option for Paul Smith. The current range of Hyundai’s he has in the Mount Alford fleet have performed well, and he is very happy with the product. Eagle Equipment hopes that the Dash 9 will fulfil all of Mount Alford’s expectations.
Story courtesy of Quarry & Mining Magazine
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