Eighteen Volvo L120H loading shovels have been ordered by Stobart Biomass Products for six locations across Great Britain.
The deal was awarded following a successful competitive tendering process said Stobart's head of vehicle sales and replacements Dale Foster.
'Several factors led to us opting for the Volvo loading shovels,' he said.
'The team at Volvo demonstrated good negotiating skills in formulating the final specification of the machines coupled with a competitive, bundled offering which includes a comprehensive repair and maintenance package.
'They were also able to present an effective cost of ownership projection over the life of the machines which we found to be very positive. Finally, their ability to provide total support to us nationwide via their customer support centres around the country clinched the deal.'
The 18 new loading shovels will be phased in to six biomass sites over the next 12 months ' the first machines have arrived and are at work on the company's waste wood-fuelled plant at Pollington near Doncaster.
They will have a split in specification, some with long boom and 9.5m³ high-tip buckets and some with standard boom and slightly smaller 7.0m³ buckets but will share options which include: Goodyear RL5k tyres, reversible cooling fans and optional axle and brake cooling, cyclone pre-cleaners, automatic lubrication, automatic fire suppression systems and reversing aids.
In addition to the standard reversing camera an additional forward facing camera has been added to the roof of the cab. This supplementary aid for the operator has been added to overcome forward blind spots due to the size of the high tip bulk buckets.
A significant element to the 18 machine deal is the inclusion of Volvo's Gold service agreement which entails a full and comprehensive repair and maintenance programme offered by Volvo. This effectively means that the fleet will be fully maintained and cared for by Volvo trained technicians using genuine Volvo parts for the length of their tenure at Stobart Biomass Products.
