Meeting the demand

Extraction And Supply Of Sand Needed For Construction Of A Key Bridge On The Meldorf bypass in Germany is being fast tracked through use of a JCB wheeled loader. Construction of the new bypass, which has just started, was first proposed over 40 years ago and will cut traffic passing through the town. The route crosses the Marschenbahn railway line and the main contractor needs 150000m3 of sand to build a bridge to carry the new road over the railway line.

Quarry owner Hans-Jürgen Beye is using its JCB 456 ZX to remove overburden, extract material needed by the project and transfer it to the processing plant at the site near to Meldorf. Once the sand is sifted and filtered, the JCB's 3,5 m3 bucket, fitted with an integrated weighing device, is either used to transfer it to a stockpile or directly load it a waiting truck. “We need to be able to guarantee the shortest waiting times possible but with the JCB 456 ZX, even a four axle truck can be loaded in no time,” says Mr Beye.

The JCB 456 ZX is powered by a Tier 2 compliant 147 kW turbocharged diesel engine and features Z-bar geometry and three hydraulic cylinders to give the high breakout forces needed for extraction applications. The machine is also fitted with two load sensing pumps which automatically adapt the hydraulic output to the demand to minimise fuel consumption.