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COVER STORY
February 2015
MODERN MINING
17
David Vaughan, Sales
Director – Equipment,
Babcock, pictured with the
Volvo L350F loader.
Powered by a 394 kW
Volvo engine, the Volvo
350F loader is an ideal
machine for tough mining
environments.
The complex will include offices, workshops
and a sophisticated rebuild centre able to
refurbish all machines in the Volvo range.” He
notes that construction of the new premises is
well advanced with occupancy scheduled for
August this year.
Vaughan says Babcock has also been
strengthening its footprint in the Southern
African region and has opened a new branch
in Matola in Mozambique and established
branches in Namibia and Botswana, which
were previously served by independent deal-
ers. In Zambia, one of its key markets, it has
branches in Kitwe, positioned at the centre
of the Copperbelt, and in Lusaka, Zambia’s
capital. It has also expanded to Solwezi in
recognition of the fact that the centre of grav-
ity of the Copperbelt has been shifting further
to the north-west of Zambia in recent years
with the opening of new copper mines such
as Kansanshi and Lumwana in North-Western
Province – with a third major mine, Sentinel,
in this same area now in the commissioning
phase.
One of the biggest sellers in the Volvo line-
up marketed by Babcock is the Volvo ADT,
which comes in three different models locally,
the 30-ton payload A30, the 35-ton A35 and the
40-ton A40. The Volvo ADT is reportedly the
global market leader and has proven extremely
popular in South Africa and neighbouring
states, with the A40 in particular being a best
seller. The models available in Southern Africa
are from the F-Series and the A40F, first intro-
duced in 2010, was the recipient in 2012 of the
‘red dot’ design award, probably the most pres-
tigious design award in Europe and arguably
the world.
According to Vaughan, one reason for the
popularity of the Volvo ADTs is the incredible
longevity they offer, with many units in the
local market having clocked up over 30 000
hours. “The Volvo haulers can soak up the
hours,” he says. “In addition,
they’re noted
for their fuel efficiency, which we believe is
market leading, and the high standards of safety
they offer. The range is also feature rich. To take
just one example, all Volvo ADTs are equipped
with Volvo’s unique Automatic Traction System
(ATC), which automatically selects the optimal
drive system to suit underfoot conditions.
“In normal mode, ATC selects the fuel-sav-
ing 6x4 drive configuration, only switching to
6x6 drive when more traction is needed. The
resulting fuel savings can be very substantial –
up to 6 % by Volvo’s estimates. There is also,
of course, a beneficial impact on tyres with tyre
life potentially being extended by up to 10 %.”
Vaughan points out that the reputation of
the Volvo ADT is such that used machines are
in huge demand worldwide. “The Volvo ADT
is almost like an international currency,” he
says. “We find that the ratio of the number of