EC700BHR excels with full power and 32m reach
The 525 m2 area was used as a soda production site during the last 38 years. As the soda production is no longer price competitive in Europe, the site owner - a chemical plant in Krefeld-Uerdingen (Rhineland region of Germany) - decided to stop production and clear the site so it could be utilised for other purposes.
In the current milestone of the project, the 90-ton EC700BHR, equipped with a 3,0 t Demarec pulveriser and an enormous 32 m reach, is pulling down the main site buildings, whilst it’s C-Series brother, the EC360CHR, mainly prepared the ground.
The contractor is Laarakkers, a Dutch company primarily specializing in demolition. Laarakkers has already completed several big demolition projects in Germany, many of them in the Ruhr district. With a machine park of more than 30 excavators (of which 20 are Volvos), Laarakkers has one of the biggest demolition fleets in the Netherlands. With more than 80 employees, Laarakkers could realize a turnover of 12 Mio. € in 2007.
Marcel Laarakkers, who is managing the company together with his brother Wiljan in the 3rd, generation, figures his staff as his strongest market advantage. "Despite our relatively young workforce, many of our employees are experienced demolition experts. Next year, my 35 year old operator Chris Ermens will celebrate 20 years with the company", explains Marcel.
With more than 5.000 hours of demolition work experience, Chris Ermens is a true professional. After having worked now for several months on the EC700BHR, he is really impressed with the machine’s performance: "I have previously worked with other excavators, but the new Volvo is very powerful and smooth. Especially when facing the highest building with 28 metre height, the enormous 32 m reach of our Volvo excavator proves invaluable. Despite its huge reach, I have a very stable and well balanced excavator. More than this, my small maintenance jobs every 500 hours are done much easier thanks to the good machine access", adds operator Chris Ermens.
As Laarakkers concluded a service agreement including a regular check up ever 1.000 machine hours, the operators can always count on their machines being in a perfect shape.
"When we decided to replace our heaviest excavator, not only price and resale value played an important role. Our experience with our Volvo fleet (among others, four EC460B and five EC240B), the professionalism of Kuiken Manager Herman Ridderikhof and, above all, the fuel efficiency gave us confidence in the purchase of the EC700BHR.
Compared with our previous excavator of similar weight, the new Volvo consumes approximately 20% less fuel.
It’s not only in times of high diesel fuel prices that we’re pleased that our 90-ton Volvo machine is working very fuel efficiently", states the company manager Marcel Laarakkers.
According to him, the demolition industry has changed significantly during the last 15 years. "Demolition projects have become more complex and difficult. Our customers are demanding at each site new, custom-made and innovative solutions. The increasing number of urban demolition projects with congested sites and contaminated soils requires not only smart planning but also accurate workmanship of skilled and experienced workers" explains Marcel Laarakkers. "To give you an example: we are using here huge, home-made, rubber mats (20 m high, 12 m wide) which are fixed on telescopic cranes. These mats help us to protect the nearby buildings, located less than 2 metres away, from falling objects", he adds.
Marcel Laarakkers continues: "The success of a demolition project mainly depends on very careful planning. The complexity of the demolition works requires a steady control and supervision for my part, primarily during the more challenging milestone of the projects".
Both the operator and the manager are optimistic about completing this project (including site clearance) by the end of July. At that time, the powerful 90-ton Volvo EC700BHR will go on to prove its efficiency on another job site.
Marcel Laarakkers considers his company as a full service provider which takes responsibility for all aspects of the demolition project. "Our services span everything from consultancy support to obtaining expert opinions and approvals through efficient and environment-friendly demolition to the disposal of material and remediation of soil", he explains.
Acting on this work maxim and supported not only by his qualified team but also by his high-performance Volvo machine fleet, Laarakkers is well prepared for the next challenges. That’s why the 34 year old company owner Marcel Laarakkers is very optimistic about the future and why he already plans to expand his fleet with another Volvo excavator.
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