“I can tell you that it is using less fuel, the operators feel more comfortable with that bucket on it than a standard bucket digging, it’s more productive – we’ve done the numbers on that and they still stand up. And it’s probably more productive, like I said, in overburden or bulk density material.”
Quarry Manager – Boral Wollert.
Boral Wollert replaced their old 3m3 bucket with an XMOR 4.4m3 bucket, giving their CAT 365 a new lease of life through a bucket 45% higher payload.
Boral Australia is a leading integrated construction materials company, supplying quarry products, cement, concrete, and asphalt to the Australian market. With a strong focus on sustainability and innovation, Boral plays a crucial role in building the nation’s infrastructure and supporting the construction industry.
We interviewed Boral Wollert’s Quarry Manager on two occasions 12 months apart, to get his open and honest feedback on varying aspects of the XMOR Bucket in operation.
Feedback from the Quarry Manager
“I had some doubts initially, as with anything, but it’s been really good.”
“Other Boral sites have called me and managers from New South Wales, and I have recommended it. Especially the sites with the lower abrasion rates and the like.”
Digging Conditions
“And it’s been on some of the hardest rock as well. While it’s been on some of the softer stuff when it’s been on overburden, some of the rock we’ve been dealing with and the conditions, it’s been dealing with a lot of oversize; it hasn’t been all good digging.”
“When you’re bulk digging overburden, that’s when you notice the major benefits … that’s due to the density of the product. With the hard rock, we’re still getting more capacity [compared to] a standard bucket, but stuff like sand, clays, all those materials, that’s where you get the full bang for buck out of the weight of the bucket.”
Operator
The XMOR Bucket in operation at Boral Wollert Quarry.
“ They haven’t got the drag through the rock, which is harder on operator and machine [because] with the XMOR Bucket on, you haven’t got the surface contact area on the bucket that you’re scraping over when you’re digging shot rock, so it’s definitely smoother.”
“As soon as you put a traditional bucket on it or they get on another machine, they comment that the machine is working harder and it’s harder on them. If you look at ergonomics in a machine, some of those are all around an operator and how he feels in it, so that’s a win in itself.”
Maintenance
“To be fair, I expected that we’d get repair work on that design and probably on the keel, that always seemed to me the place that we’d have issues, and it has, but nothing major.”
“There’s no wash, hardly any there, which that’s one of the benefits of that buckets as well, and usually you need 12 months to identify that.”
“Generally, repair work on a standard bucket is building a skin in, or you do something, and you reduce volume again and add more weight to it. So, it would be comparable or maybe a touch better in the overall.”
“Steel is expensive. Anything steel or that wears, is one of your costs for fixed plant maintenance. It’s important to reduce those costs as much as possible.”
Durability
“I had a manager say to me, ‘Oh, it looks flimsy’ I said, ‘Yes, it’s not though, it’s around that design that the strength comes from’. If you just look at it, it does look light, but it’s proved itself, definitely here.”
The ONTRAC traditional design buckets have also delivered outstanding performance at other Boral sites, further reinforcing our commitment to efficiency and durability in the quarrying industry.
“Upgrading the bucket has brought us greater efficiency and faster production times, giving us the ability to tackle even the toughest jobs with ease. This has resulted in reduced downtime and increased output, which means more time spent quarrying.
Boral’s Premium Quarry bucket being dispatched from ONTRAC’s Manufacturing facility in July 2022.
Our team is absolutely delighted to have this new piece of equipment! Plus, with a longer lifespan compared to our previous bucket, it won’t need to be replaced any time soon.
With customer demand continuing to increase for our quarry products, we’re thrilled to realise these productivity gains.” – Source, Boral LinkedIn
“Our rock is one of the most abrasive in Australia” However, after having an ONTRAC bucket in the ground for seven months, we haven’t had any downtime because of the bucket whatsoever.”
