Quarry owner Rob Matthews details his company’s experience using the XMOR Bucket from ONTRAC Group.
When Matthews Quarries wanted to increase its production, the excavator bucket was at the forefront of its strategy.
Since its establishment in 1986, Matthews Quarries has grown to delivers more than 500,000 tonnes of material annually to the Gippsland region and beyond.
Focusing on providing high-quality quarry products and technical advice, Matthews Quarries pairs its operators with leading equipment to do the job. Recently, the company invested in the XMOR Bucket from ONTRAC Group to partner with its Volvo 750 excavator.
“It’s saving us money. The XMOR Bucket fitted to our Volvo 750 Excavator is doing at least 10 per cent more than what our previous 75-tonne Volvo was doing with a standard bucket, so it’s proving itself,” said Rob Matthews, owner of Mattews Quarries.
“We’re only doing overburden of clay and dirt at the quarry, so it’s lasting very well. There’s no maintenance to do to it.
“It loads a lot quicker. We were previously doing five buckets to get a load, and now we’re doing three. It’s four if they don’t get a full bucket; it just depends on what they’re doing and where they are at the time. But it doesn’t unbalance the machine either.”
ONTRAC Group is the exclusive distributor and manufacturer of the XMOR Bucket in Australia. It features a unique, curved design with patented keel and heel segments to reduce the required passes.
The XMOR Bucket is manufactured from with SSAB’s Hardox 500 Tuf wear plate and Strenx 700 structural steel, making it lighter than conventional excavator buckets available. Due to the steel’s durability and the XMOR Bucket’s curved design, it does not sacrifice service life.
The inverted shape of the tub minimises ground contact and wear of the bucket’s bottom, reducing customers’ maintenance and servicing requirements.
Matthews said the XMOR Bucket had helped the Gippsland-based business boost its productivity.
“The dump trucks are doing more work. Previously, they were sitting, waiting to get loaded, and now there’s very little time they’re sitting, so it’s saving fuel and labour,” he said.
“Saving fuel versus the production rate makes it quicker and cheaper. If it’s still going as strong as it is now in another 12 months’ time, it’ll be leaps and bounds ahead.
“When we buy another excavator, we’ll definitely be looking at XMOR again.”
Nick Espie, product specialist at ONTRAC Group, said the company was seeing greater uptake of the XMOR Bucket in the industry.
“We’re trying to encourage people have a new way of thinking. When the customers see the numbers and what they can achieve, especially now that we’ve got real time data, that answers a lot of questions,” he said.
“We are getting a lot of positive feedback from customers who may have been sceptical but now wouldn’t go any other way but XMOR.”
The XMOR Bucket comes in the popular BHB option, which features a lightweight, rounded design suited to bulk earthmoving or overburden work. The BHC variant of the XMOR Bucket is beefed up to deliver a more robust option for abrasive environments. It maintains the same benefits and design as the BHB model but features increased steel thickness and a flat cutting edge with a straight top beam.
ONTRAC Group’s team can conduct on-site studies to help quarries determine the best option for their application. Using a data-informed approach, ONTRAC Group can show in real time what production levels and return on investment the quarry could achieve.
“Creating a win-win situation for us and the quarry is our ultimate goal; it’s the driving force behind what we do,” Espie said.
“We believe the XMOR bucket can help quarries, and we want to work with the quarries and the OEMs to help them see how the XMOR could make them stand out.” •
For more information, visit ontracgroup.com.au
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