Wooldridge adds its largest Volvo excavator
17 March 2021
UK-based company Wooldridge Demolition has taken delivery of a Volvo EC750EL demolition excavator, which has now become the largest in the company’s fleet.
Wooldridge Demolition’s Volvo EC750EL excavator has been specifically engineered to carry out high-reach projects
Apdapted to the company’s own specifications, the 102 t high reach excavator arrived at the company’s base in Surrey with a 40 m (131 ft) Kocurek telescopic boom.
John Hickman, operations director of Wooldridge Demolition, said: “Prior to the EC750EL, our highest reach came from a Volvo EC480DL with a Kocurek 24 m (78 ft 9 in) boom. With the evolution of many urban regeneration projects, we needed to go higher.”
The Kocurek boom allows the machine to operate with a 3 t attachment at full height and provides the excavator with 19 m (62 ft) of reach from the centreline of the slew ring to the attachment pin.
Supplied by Cambridge-based machinery and truck provider SMT GB, Wooldridge’s new high-reach excavator took six months to upgrade.
In addition the new boom assemblies, each track frame of the Volvo EC750EL was lengthened by one metre
Other engineering changes included the addition of an 18 m TAB configuration that can work with an 8 t shear for low-level processing. The six-month long conversion process also equipped with a short 25 t capacity lifting arm that fits straight into the unit’s modular joint.
The configuration means the EC750EL effectively becomes a self-contained rig that can unload its 22 t telescopic boom and cradle, without needing a crane for installation.
SMT GB said, “In addition to construction of the new boom assemblies, each track frame was lengthened by one metre, contributing to improved stability. The undercarriage was also given a telescopic frame, allowing the transport gauge to be increased from 2.75 m (9 ft) centre-to-centre of the 750 mm (29.5 in) track pads, to 4.41 m (14 ft 6 in).”
Wooldridge added the high-reach model so that it could take on larger projects with taller structures and increase it spare lifting capacity.
The company has already deployed the machine for phase three of the Woodberry Down urban regeneration scheme in London. The project comprises the dismantling and processing of multiple structures, including high-rise residential blocks, a community centre and a public house.
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