CEDAR GROVE, N.J. - Neither rain nor snow nor 10-ton concrete structures could stop a Volvo EC460B from making its appointed rounds recently in a retail site development in New Jersey.

In fact, contractor T.J. Recchia said he’s hard pressed to identify a more impressive excavator performance than the one turned in recently by his company’s 47.3-ton EC460B.

Recchia is a member of Hutton Construction, the firm charged with placing oversized, pre-cast concrete structures on a site it was preparing for a retail development in northern New Jersey. According to Recchia, his company historically would have brought in a crane to lift and position the pre-cast structures, some as heavy as 23,000 lbs.

Recchia, general superintendent Randy Lovallo and Hutton’s management team put pencil to paper and after brainstorming determined that lifting and placing the pre-cast with the firm’s EC460B was not only possible, but was also a cost-effective alternative to using the crane on several of the walls being built.

“Using the Volvo EC460B on those walls in place of the crane resulted in lower manpower and equipment costs,” Recchia said.

Hutton’s EC460B is equipped with the Volvo S-3 hydraulic quick coupler, which enables an operator to quickly and easily exchange buckets and attachments.

Like other Volvo customers, Hutton has also discovered the benefit of dropping the bucket and maximizing the unit’s already impressive lifting capacity to crane.

“This was a job that offered up some pretty challenging conditions for the Volvo machine,” Recchia said, noting that the project ran through the extremes of winter and summer, “with consistent performance by the EC460B.”

Hutton used the EC460B to load trucks with about 350,000 cubic yards of earth and rock for relocation, install more than 20,000 lineal feet of pipe, and place several hundred oversized pre-cast structures, including modular walls, culvert pipes and chambers. “The EC460B was an exceptional, well-rounded machine that adapted well to each of these various work disciplines,” he said.

Lovallo added he found that the Volvo excavator offered control and was consistent and accurate. “Which is important when there are men working below,” Lovallo said. “That is especially impressive when you consider it was handling structures of that size and weight.”

Hutton Construction, Cedar Grove, N.J., is a heavy civil contractor, specializing in site preparation, underground utilities, water and flood control.

Anthony Recchia, Sr., entered the construction industry in 1962. In the mid 1970s, his construction company took on the title “Hutton,” named for the street on which the business was located. It is now under the guidance of Recchia’s three sons: T.J., Mark and Stephen.

Mark Recchia said he has also been pleased with the craning abilities of the EC460B, Hutton’s first excavator with a hydraulic quick coupler. He noted that by disconnecting the bucket, “it reduces the weight so you get more lift capacity, the sight line is better because the bucket is gone and we gain an additional couple of feet of lift as well.”

In addition to the EC460B, Hutton Construction owns a 29.9-ton EC290B and has recently purchased a EC330B. Mark Recchia said the firm brought in the EC290B to replace an aging Cat 325BL. “It’s a bit heavier and has great cycle times and excellent fuel economy,” he said.

Hutton’s EC290B and EC330B are also equipped with Volvo hydraulic quick couplers and are typically used in underground pipe installation.