Established in 1982, Ford Civil Engineering has specialised in providing first class groundworks and civil engineering services to the house construction industry for major house builders such as Bellway Homes, Barratt Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Charles Church covering Dorset, Hampshire, Wiltshire and West Sussex.
The company has steadily built up its fleet of mobile plant to service the contracts it undertakes which consists of a mix of thirteen tonne and a variety of mini excavators along with an assortment of other mobile plant such as sites dumpers, rollers and road sweepers. “We had been considering the Volvo product for some time having had good third party references and a previous demonstration,” says Mr Martin. “As we have a fairly strict replacement policy, the pressure on the residual values of some of our older machines dictated the need to look for a better value for money product. Looking again at the overall package on offer from Volvo, the health and safety initiatives built into the machines as standard and the prospect of strong residual values were the deciding factors for our purchasing decision,” he continues.
The new EC140D is powered by a Volvo four cylinder D4H Stage IIIB engine developing 114hp which contributes to an excellent performance being well matched to the machine’s hydraulics. The machine’s ‘Integrated work mode control’ provides high efficiency, rapid dig cycles and low fuel consumption. This advanced mode control system ensures the maximum possible hydraulic horsepower available is delivered at a constant engine speed under varying load conditions. In addition, boom and arm geometry provide highly competitive digging forces and lifting capacities, which makes for faster work cycles. And even working on fine grading jobs, the new EC140D’s have found favour with Ford Civil Engineering’s operators due to the precise motion of the boom and arm geometry working seamlessly together. Hose rupture valves are fitted as standard to the boom and dipper cylinders as are quick fit hydraulics and a hammer/shear service.
The Volvo Care Cab offers a large roomy interior with plenty of leg room and foot space. The excellent all round visibility is enhanced by pressurized and filtered cab air supplied by a 14 vent, climate control system. An adjustable easy to read LCD colour monitor provides real time information of the machine functions, important diagnostic information and a wide variety of work tool settings. The monitor also doubles as a monitor for the rear view camera. An optional heavy duty guard has been added to the front windscreen and top of the cabin to prevent damage from brash, branches and other site debris.
www.volvoce.co.uk