New Doosan Excavator Boosts Output at Scottish Quarry

Gordon Robertson Plant Hire, based at Thurso in Caithness in Scotland, has taken delivery of a new Doosan DX300LC-5 30 tonne crawler excavator for use at the company’s Caithness stone quarry at Barrock near Thurso. 

Delivered just three weeks after placing the order for the machine with Balgownie Ltd, the local Authorised Doosan and Bobcat dealer, the new DX300LC-5 excavator has already had a tremendous impact by increasing productivity and reducing fuel costs at the quarry. The new DX300LC-5 was purchased based on the excellent performance of Doosan 14 tonne and 6 tonne machines that have been part of the fleet at Gordon Robertson over the last six years.

Company owner, Gordon Robertson, said: “Our machines take part in all types of projects, including land drainage work in agriculture and housebuilding and I have been very impressed by the performance and durability of all of the Doosan excavators since I purchased the first 6-tonner in 2010. All of our drivers are delighted with the new DX300LC-5 excavator and have remarked how comfortable the cab is and how smooth the machine is to operate.

“The fact that Balgownie and Doosan could deliver me the DX300LC-5 in just 3 weeks from placing the order was also a key feature. We needed the machine quickly to work with a new 3.5 tonne hydraulic breaker we had purchased for breaking out rock at the quarry and we are now producing 50% more aggregate at the quarry since the new Doosan excavator arrived.”

Greater Power and Torque
The new DX300LC-5 is powered by the Scania DC9 5-cylinder diesel engine, with an output of 202 kW of power at 1800 rpm, providing a huge 27% increase in engine power and a massive 30% boost in torque over the previous LC-3 model. The engine meets Stage IV emission regulations without the need of a diesel particulate filter (DPF), through the use of cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and selective catalyst reduction (SCR) after-treatment technologies.

As well as the Scania engine, new innovative and exclusive features have been introduced, leading to huge reductions in fuel consumption compared to the Stage IIIB machine. Among these features is the new ‘Trip Meter Setting’ screen which allows operators to check fuel consumption daily (or over a desired period) directly from the control panel; the new Auto Shut-Off which provides an automatic shut down for the engine after a pre-set time when the machine has been idling for a specified time (3 to 60 minutes configurable by the operator); and to save even more fuel, there is a special Doosan-developed system, SPC (Smart Power Control), to optimise the balance between the pumps’ output and the diesel engine.

Gordon Robertson is very impressed, adding: “The new Doosan DX300LC-5 excavator is using 10 litres per hour less fuel than the two bigger 35 tonne machines I run at the quarry. This really begins to add up when you consider it equates to around 500 litres of fuel a week – a massive saving.”

As well as the full range of Doosan crawler and wheeled excavator models, Balgownie, based at Inverurie in Aberdeenshire, is responsible for sales and servicing of the Doosan wheel loader and articulated dump truck ranges in Aberdeenshire, Morayshire, Angus and for much of the Highlands. The company is also the Authorised Bobcat dealer for the same areas.

Balgownie Ltd started trading as an engineering company in 1907 in sheet metal work and tank manufacturing, supplying to shipyards, farmers and the food industry before diversifying into the manufacture and supply of dairy equipment. Today, Balgownie is one of the leading specialists in Construction, Tractor, Trailer, Agriculture and Groundcare Machinery sales in Scotland.

Gordon Robertson commented: “The back-up provided by Balgownie is superb and complements the high performance of the Doosan excavators. A special mention and praise should go to the role played by the service engineers at Balgownie who are excellent.”

Higher Performance at Stage IV
The DX300LC-5 Stage IV compliant crawler excavator provides greatly improved performance compared to the previous ‘LC-3’ Stage IIIB model. Bucket, arm and swing forces in the DX300LC-5 remain the same as the Stage IIIB model, but the drawbar pull has been sharply increased by 8%. The operating weight of the DX300LC-5 has increased by 900 kg, resulting in increases in lifting capacities of 1% over the front and 5% over the side.

Already excelling in spaciousness and ergonomics, the new cab in the DX300LC-5 has been further refined for outstanding operator comfort and ease of operation. The cab offers super controllability with a new system that enables attachments to be operated from either the joystick or a two-way pedal. Users also have the unique jog shuttle switch which remains a feature exclusive to Doosan excavators worldwide.

A side-view camera is available as an option and the control panel allows the views from both the rear and side view cameras to be combined on the same screen, simply by pressing a button on the control panel. For more safety when using the cameras, a menu bar now stays open so that the operator can keep an eye out for warning symbols and the levels of key gauges.

The DX300LC-5 features a distinctive new machine styling scheme common to all the Stage IV excavators in the new Doosan ‘LC-5’ range, representing the improvements on the already high standards set by the previous LC-3 range, adding to enhanced comfort and controllability with new features to boost fuel efficiency, uptime and return on investment, with a focus on increased power, robustness and agility.


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