CASE in Control - New CASE CX210E-S makes light work of heavy tasks in Welsh Quarry

When the time came to replace several aging excavators at Cware Trefigin Quarry near Cardigan in Pembrokeshire in south west Wales, the owners had no hesitation in opting for a new heavy duty CASE CX210E-S, having enjoyed a successful relationship with the brand for many years.

The family operated sand and gravel quarry was established by Granville John and his wife Sheila and although they are still active in this highly successful business today, they’ve left most of the heavy work to their three sons Rhodri, Peredur and Llyr who continue to develop and grow the operation.

Trefigin Quarry produces three grades of much sought after sand and three grades of quality washed stone to supply the construction industry across the south west of Wales, in addition to meeting the demands of a long list of builders merchants, so there is rarely any let-up in the quarry, with reliability and durability of plant and machinery key to the daily success of the operation.

The roots of the business stretch back to the 1950’s when Granville’s father started out as an agricultural contractor and down through the years as the company evolved CASE equipment has played an integral role.

The new 20 tonne CX210E-S excavator, which works at the quarry face, joins a number of other machines in the company’s 10 plus strong fleet, including a CX210D model, a CX31B mini digger, a 121 E series compact wheel loader and several other loading shovels.

“My father and his father before him have been using CASE equipment for many years and we continue to do so because of the quality and reliability of the brand,” says son Rhodri John. “The new CX210E-S arrived on site in July and we are very happy with its performance. It has replaced a couple of older excavators that have served us well and had clocked up high hours over many years.”

Japanese technology & components
Also there to support the quarry owners when we visited the site was Hayden Bale, Product Specialist/Demonstrator (Northern Europe) at CASE Construction Equipment. “The new CX210E-S, which has been built at our manufacturing facilities in India, features a number of improvements over the older model, but still using Japanese technology and components".

“To add durability and quality to the machine, we’ve beefed up the undercarriage to give it more protection, the boom base has been heavily plated as has the dipper to cope with the tough conditions of the quarry environment,” said Hayden.

“The machine offers more controllability and another big different is the upgraded engine from the previous D model which was powered by a four cylinder Isuzu engine. We now have our own engine, a six cylinder FPT NEF6 Stage V diesel engine, which is also used by many other leading manufacturers. It produces the same horse power as the Isuzu, but at a slightly lower rpm, with a bigger displacement and improved digging power.”

Described as the ‘Essential’ alternative to the regular CX210E, the CX210E-S retains all the performance and operator comfort as well as quality and reliability of the standard model. It comes factory-fitted with a standard quick coupler circuit and high-flow multifunction auxiliary hydraulics; a low-flow circuit also available for enhanced versatility with all kinds of attachments.

This new E-S model tips the scales around 500kg heavier than the CX210E, due to the heavy-duty build of its front-end equipment, lower structure and undercarriage. It boasts lifting capacity and drawbar pull virtually unchanged and the machine also delivers the very same breakout forces.

A number of work modes are available, including SP (Super Power) mode for maximum productivity (as in D-Series) with the throttle set at maximum power; P (Power) mode which replaces H and A mode in D-Series, with throttle settings from 1 to 10; L (Lifting) mode which is optimized for object handling with power boost permanently activated.

There’s also a ground-breaking and increasingly popular Eco mode which reduces fuel consumption through selective control of the engine and pump depending on the movement. It maintains maximum pump torque to deliver high productivity, while minimizing fuel consumption during low effort operations.

Quieter Working Environment
As Rhodri told us, the operator’s cab offers an excellent and quieter working environment, with wide access space and increased foot space, and robust and comfortable steps, as well as a handrail for safe access to the top of the hood. It also boasts a pneumatic and heated operator’s seat with suspended joystick consoles, a 10’’ display – the biggest in the industry -with integrated A/C and five configurable buttons, a Bluetooth radio, and an LED light package for brighter and wider illumination.

Other notable features include standard rear- and right-hand cameras, and a factory fitted travel alarm for greater safety on the jobsite around the machine, while an auto lever lock safety feature immediately stops machine movement when the operator unintentionally unlocks the gate lock, and for the operator’s bits and pieces, there is plenty of storage capacity with a lunch box tray and a cool box, a smartphone tray, and two large drink holders.

Quotes

“My father and his father before him have been using CASE equipment for many years and we continue to do so because of the quality and reliability of the brand…”

“The CX210E-S retains all the performance and operator comfort as well as quality and reliability of the standard model…”