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Astra's largest underwater breaker

Digger Blogger | 11:00, Wed January 30 2019

When Ovenden Earthmoving wanted a breaker large enough to fit an 80-tonne long-reach excavator, Astra Site Services broke new ground by adapting a Soosan SB121 for the job.

Astra Site Services claims to be the UK’s largest supplier of hydraulic excavator attachments. It was taken over by A-Plant last year and now operates as a specialist division within the group.

Astra’s specially adapted breaker for Ovenden has been deployed on the River Thames where it is being used to dismantle a partially sunken pontoon at the Deptford waterfront development, Convoy Wharf.

Josie Mann, hire manager at Astra, says: “This is the largest breaker for underwater working Astra has supplied to date, which meant we were faced with a variety of challenges from sourcing suitable brackets to sourcing a bespoke compressor line and fitting to a specially adapted excavator in the centre of London.

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“Any prolonged period of underwater working presents a considerable strain on a breaker so we brought in our senior engineers who spent a full day on site, fitting, checking and testing the breaker in preparation for its mammoth task.”

The equipment worked well and Josie believes the project demonstrates the company’s readiness to customise.

She explains: “The project, which is still ongoing, has been a huge achievement for the team. Not only were we able to supply and install specially fabricated equipment within days of receiving instruction from the client, we have also proven that we have the knowledge and expertise to commit to such a project and carry it out with ease.”

 

MPU
MPU

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