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I’ve Scot two: Volvo duo for Bryan Contractors

Digger Blogger | 13:03, Tue October 24 2017

Scotland’s Bryan Contractors has added a pair of new Volvo excavators to its plant fleet for its general contracting and ground works business.

Mike Bryan started out as an agricultural contractor back in 1963, moving into plant and ground works 10 years later. The company today, based in Caputh, near Perth, is in agricultural and forestry contracting, road construction and maintenance, ground works for new buildings and hydropower construction.

It bought its first Volvo machine in 2007 and has just recently year added a new Volvo ECR88D reduced-swing excavator (pictured above) and a 14-tonne EC140E.

“The Volvo product is well specified and we’ve had a good overall experience of owning and operating them for the last ten years,” says Mike. “Both the reliability and the after sales service, when we’ve needed it, has been excellent along with strong residual values when we  trade out, usually every four years,” he says.

Both machines were delivered in August, having been displayed at the 2017 Black Isle Show. The ECR88D has been equipped with optional steel tracks and a slight modification to the dozer blade to extend it to cover the width of the tracks.  The machine has also been enhanced by the addition of a Geith ‘thumb’, mounted to the underside of the dipper arm. This works off of the hammer/shear hydraulic circuit, and thus operates independently from the bucket cylinder.  The ‘thumb’ is also designed to clamp to the bucket’s cutting edge without interfering with the bucket teeth.

“The combination of the machine and the Geith attachment has proved to be very versatile – picking and sorting stone and handling diverse material such as timber, concrete and rubble,” Mike says.

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The Volvo ECR88D is powered by a Volvo 2.6 litre low emission engine producing 56 hp coupled to a load sensing hydraulic system for fast cycle times and smooth control. The machine offers a horizontal reach of 7.3 metres, a dig depth of 4.5 metres and a lift capacity of 1020kg at full reach across the carriage.

The EC140E model is powered by Volvo stage IV compliant four-cylinder engine developing 121 hp. The ‘Integrated work mode control’ ensures maximum hydraulic horsepower available is delivered at a constant engine speed under varying load conditions.

Hose rupture valves are fitted as standard to the boom and dipper cylinders as are quick fit hydraulics and a hammer/shear service.

The machines were supplied by CSM Sales, based in Inverness, the Volvo utility dealer for the north of Scotland since 2014. CSM Sales is the sales division of Campbell Plant Hire and is headed by managing director Calum Shaw, previously of the Morris Leslie Group and Balgownie.

 

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