Page 48 - HUB-4 Magazine Issue 84

Quarrying News
Two Rokbak RA30s chosen for ‘Quarry of the Year’
Smith & Sons (Bletchington) has added two Rokbak RA30 articulated haulers to its fleet at the award-winning Gill Mill Quarry in Oxfordshire, with the trucks impressing with torque, manoeuvrability and low fuel consumption.
It is understandable that one of the best quarries in the UK requires the best equipment. That’s why, since October 2022, a pair of Rokbak RA30 articulated haulers have been loading and hauling primary ballast at a quarry for Smith & Sons (Bletchington) Ltd., a leading producer and supplier of primary and recycled aggregates for Oxfordshire and its surrounding counties.
In the first year of their arrival, the two RA30s shifted nearly half a million tonnes of material between them at Gill Mill Quarry. The Gill Mill aggregate processing plant is the flagship site for Smith & Sons (Bletchington) and was declared ‘Quarry of the Year’ by the British Aggregates Association for its operating standards at the end of 2020.
“The Rokbaks that we’ve got are integral to our operation insofar as their suitability to the site – they’re not too small and they’re not too big,” says Gill Mill Quarry Manager Jeff Murphy. “With the constraints that we’ve got on some of the roads, they suit our needs, and we find them efficient and easy to operate. They’re very operator friendly.”
Operations at Gill Mill start at 6:30am with a standard maintenance check on equipment, and run until 5pm, five days a week. Daily checks including damage inspection and fuel level monitoring are conducted from a maintenance sheet. Once completed, operations commence and the trucks bring up premium ballast to be converted into building materials.
The RA30 articulated haulers, each with a 28 tonne (30.9 US ton) maximum payload and a 17.5m3 (22.9yd3) heaped capacity, currently work on load and carry operations, dumping material into a hopper, with the material then fed to the main plant through a conveyer system. The distance travelled by each RA30 is approximately one mile per load, with each truck making between 25 and 30 roundtrips a day.
Smooth operators
“We’ve got two dedicated Rokbak dumper operators on site,” explains Jeff. “The feedback we’ve received from them is very positive, with the trucks being very manoeuvrable, easy to operate and very user-friendly.”
Each Rokbak cab has pressurised capabilities and a premium performance HVAC and air flow system. Clear instrumentation and an LCD display for operational and service feedback, including fuel consumption, is intended for simple operation and service data extraction.
“My personal pick is the rear-view camera, with a very big, clear screen ideal for all weather conditions, day and night,”
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www.hub-4.com Jan/Feb - Issue 84