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COVER STORY
February 2015
MODERN MINING
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machines we trade in
compared to the number
that we sell is completely
different to the indus-
try average – a result of
customers selling their
machines directly, par-
ticularly to international
buyers, rather than trad-
ing them in when they
need to modernise or
expand their fleets.”
While the Volvo ADT
accounts for the big-
gest portion of the Volvo
construction and min-
ing machines marketed
locally by Babcock, the
overall range includes
hydraulic excavators,
wheeled loaders, back-
hoe loaders (also known
as TLBs) and compac-
tors. The excavators
– eight models are offered
– range from a 5,5‑t mini-
excavator through to the top-of-the-range
70‑ton EC700 while the 11 loaders available
have bucket capacities from 0,7 m
3
to 6,8 m
3
.
Says Vaughan: “If we’re talking mining, the
most popular models are the EC700 excava-
tor and the L350F wheel loader, which is an
extremely productive unit designed for use in
the toughest mining environments.” He adds
that the EC700 – powered by a 346 kW Volvo
engine – is well matched to the A40 hauler. As
regards the L350F, rated at 394 kW, he describes
it as an “uncompromising machine” which, like
all other units in the Volvo range, offers excel-
lent safety, ease of maintenance and durability.
Among other things, it features an intelligent
load-sensing hydraulic system consisting of
two variable piston pumps which provide
exactly the flow rate and pressure demanded
by the work situation.
Complementing the Volvo range, Babcock
also distributes the SDLG range of equipment,
which includes loaders and graders. Explaining
the positioning of SDLG with respect to the
Volvo brand, Vaughan says the SDLG machines
cater for the value end of the market, where
there is less emphasis on high-tech features.
“They are excellent machines and are proving
extremely popular with customers who do not
need the sophistication and ultra-high specs of
the Volvo range,” he observes.
An interesting point is that Volvo CE
announced in November last year that it would
be discontinuing production of Volvo-branded
backhoe loaders and graders. In future, it said,
these products would be manufactured by
SDLG in China rather than at Volvo factories
in Europe, the USA and Brazil. Said Volvo CE
in its statement: “The current product lines
of technologically advanced and high spec
Volvo-branded backhoe loaders and motor
graders have addressed a relatively small pre-
mium segment of the market. SDLG-branded
backhoe loaders and motor graders will bet-
ter serve customer demands in the large and
growing value segment of the market.”
Commenting on this decision, Vaughan says
the message he would like to convey to custom-
ers is that Babcock can continue to meet their
needs as it has in the past, with no diminish-
ment in the range of machines it is able to offer
customers.
Summing up, Vaughan says that Babcock has
successfully established the Volvo CE brand
in South Africa since acquiring the agency in
2000, with sales increasing many times over
during this 15-year period and with just over
7 500 machines now operating in the field “Our
performance has been so strong that we’ve been
named as the Volvo CE ‘Dealer of the Year’ on
three occasions,” he says. “As I’ve said, cur-
rent market conditions are challenging but we
emerged from the downturn of 2008/2009 in
very good shape and I’m confident that we’ll
do the same this time around.”
Another view of the EC700
excavator. The machine has
proven popular in Southern
Africa with customers in the
mining field.