Affordable, sustainable and quality products is the motto of clay brick manufacturer Claytile - which is why the Babcock range of Volvo construction equipment represented much more than just another brick in the wall when it came to a fleet upgrade.
Claytile is a member of the Heavy Clay Products Group, the largest independent producer of clay building bricks in the Western Cape. Their production capacity is around 8-million bricks per month and a commitment to producing consistently high quality bricks.
Over the last two and a half years, Claytile has replaced their existing fleet of machinery with five new machines from Babcock. The expert, local knowledge, availability of parts, modern servicing facilities and commitment to after-sales service and support were some of the main reasons why Claytile turned to Babcock when machinery replacement became necessary.
“Our machinery runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days of the year, so of particular importance to us was the after-sales support provided by Babcock and the high levels of uptime associated with the Volvo brand,” - Julian De La Hunt, Managing Director of Claytile.
The five construction equipment machines being used in their modern, automated plant are:
- EC210 excavator - to break stockpile for blending and other general work in the factory
- L90F and L120F wheel loaders - for loading of raw material
- L150G wheel loader - for distance running and loading of materials into the hopper
- SDLG LG958 for general work
The Volvo EC210 excavator was a natural choice for Claytile thanks to its industry-leading fuel economy and legendary Volvo cab, while the F-series wheel loaders were selected for their low fuel consumption, quick and easy maintenance and high resale value. The SDLG LG958 is the ideal machine for all purpose work as it is robust, fuel efficient and easy to maintain and repair.
The fact that Volvo comes backed by a 175-year heritage and places a strong emphasis on safe, comfortable, productive machines that also minimise environmental impact fell perfectly in line with Claytile’s ethos of being committed to environmentally friendly initiatives.