When you’re moving 4,000 tonnes of aggregate a day you want your loader to make as few movements as possible. The Volvo L240 loader used at our Drury quarry takes just over three scoops to fill a large truck and trailer unit. Quarry Manager Nathan Gibbons came up with a solution and designed an extension to the cutting bar and a spill guard to increase the bucket’s capacity from 7.3 m3 to 8 m3.

Nathan says, “I thought there’s got to be a more efficient way of doing this, so I did some calculations and asked the workshop to extend the cutting edge and add a spill guard.”

The new design allows the truck and trailer to be filled in three passes rather than four, saving up to 130 loader movements per day. Fewer loader movements mean efficient use of time and lower carbon emissions.

When Stevenson ordered new L260H loaders last year for delivery in early 2023, Nathan asked Volvo if they could build the bigger buckets as standard. “I’d seen the same model of loader carrying 20 tonnes of logs so I knew it had the capability. With a density of around 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre, the 8m3 loads come in at around 12 tonnes each, says Nathan.”