Mid Hants invests in new CASE 921G Wheel Loaders & CASE CX370D Crawler Excavator

With an eye on increasing productivity and efficiency, Mid Hants Sand & Aggregates recently invested in two more CASE wheel loaders and a CASE crawler excavator to add to its already impressive fleet of machines operating across its network of quarries producing a variety of aggregates and specialist sands for the agricultural and construction sectors.

With a Head Office at South Warnborough in Hampshire, and with rural roots as a successful family-run farm, Mid Hants was established in 1997, and today it has grown to become a well respected and trusted producer and supplier to an ever increasing customer base throughout the UK from its busy working quarries in Hampshire, North Devon and Liverpool.

Operating a fleet of bulkers and eight-wheel tippers delivering aggregates and sands to customers nationally from Cornwall to Scotland, it has built up solid working relationships within the construction and agricultural sectors, assisting on both large and small projects.

It’s an extensive and intensive business, the continuing success of which all begins at the quarry face where the product is extracted and processed utilising the latest technologies and the most efficient, reliable and productive machinery.

Awesome Earthmovers recently met up with Richard Chewter, the company’s Operations Manager at its Fawley Quarry in Southampton. We asked him how the CASE brand was playing a major role at the quarry which opened in 2012, and is producing 250,000 tonnes of material each year to meet customer demand.

“Increasing operational efficiency and productivity are essential to our success and that’s exactly what our CASE wheel loaders and the new CASE excavator have contributed to our business. We have the machines serviced every 500 hours and apart from the odd minor issue they don’t let us down, so we had no hesitation in adding more CASE machines to the fleet.”

EXPANDING CASE FLEET
The two new CASE 921Gs – one of which has been sent to work at the Liverpool site - bring to six the number of CASE wheel loaders currently being operated by Mid Hants, including an 821F which has just clocked up 13,500 hours without any major issues. The company’s fleet of equipment at the quarry also includes a CASE CX370D crawler excavator, in addition to Finlay crushers and screeners and a number of Bell dumpers.

For added safety, the new CASE wheel loaders have been fitted with a Spillards camera system that will detect the movement of people in close proximity and alert them to any potential dangers. “We also had extra wide tracks fitted on the CASE CX370D excavator, plus a shorter arm - 2.6m instead of the standard 3.2m – which provides a bigger break out force because the sand here at the quarry can be very hard,” explains Richard.

Increasing operational efficiency and productivity are essential to our success and that’s exactly what our CASE machines have contributed to our business… It’s a sand that has played an increasingly important role in the growth of the company in recent times as it serves the needs of the dairy industry, providing bedding sand for cattle cubicles which has become one of its best selling products.

The sand from the quarry, supplemented by marine dredged sea sand, is washed, graded and regularly tested to ensure customers get a soft, high quality clean bedding material which is available all year round. It has many benefits – from promoting cattle health and reducing mastitis, to improving cow comfort, increasing lying time and improving milk yield.

“Good productivity is key to us, so we need to be efficient in loading up the trucks once they arrive here rather than having them park up to await their turn and these new CASE machines, with their new features, have contributed to improving productivity,” says Richard, who adds that the CASE machines are also more fuel efficient. “Compared to another wheel loader brand we have working at one of our other sites, there is a 3 to 4 litre an hour difference in favour of the CASE, so that’s a welcome bonus.”

SMOOTH & EFFICIENT OPERATION
The Mid Hants operators have also remarked on the smooth and reliable performance of the new CASE 921G and the CX370D which, says Richard, contributes to stress free shifts for the drivers.

Indeed, there’s a lot to like about the 21 tonne CASE 921G which is powered by an FPT N67 engine with up to 255 horsepower. Designed to withstand up to 14,277kg of full turn tipping load, and a bucket capacity of up to 4.2m³, this wheel loader is proving to be perfect for all-around usage in the quarry.

The comfortable cab with its one-piece windshield design and high-efficiency lighting and standard rear-view camera offering great all round vision, features a heated, air-suspended seat with a high backrest and headrest, a seat-mounted console, a touch screen display, easily set boom and bucket automatic positioning, configurable buttons, a hands-free calling kit and multiple storage areas for the operator’s bits and pieces.

The 38 tonne CASE CX370D crawler excavator also has performance and operator appealing features including an ergonomic seat design and a spacious soundproof pressurised cab, providing ample legroom, a fully adjustable workstation, with a 178 mm colour LED monitor, bluetooth tuner and radio, and there is outstanding visibility with an ample glazed surface, and right and rear cameras, in addition to a handy storage compartment, 12v accessory plug, clipboard holder, mobile phone holder, and even a warm and cool box.

Powered by an Isuzu 6-cylinder turbo-charged diesel EU stage V engine, there are three working modes, one for grading, lifting and precision work, a second giving the best balance between productivity and fuel economy and a third for extra speed and power for the most demanding jobs that require maximum productivity.

GOOD DEALER RELATIONSHIP
Product Specialist at CASE, Hayden Bale, says they have enjoyed a long and successful working relationship with Mid Hants and he’s delighted the company continues to invest in the CASE brand, doing so through local dealers M&M Plant who cover Devon and Cornwall in the south west of England from their facilities in Launceston.

Adds Richard Chewter: “Our relationship with the dealer is also key to our success.”

The machine could be excellent but if you haven’t got a good relationship with the dealer it just wouldn’t work; fortunately, we have that good relationship with M&M Plant. We also enjoy good communication with the manufacturer which means that when we order parts they are delivered direct from the factory to our sites rather than first to the dealer and then on to us, so that saves us on any potential for downtime.