First Hyundai Dozer

Indeed, DA Johnstone has such a quantity of equipment on the Garbet site, that it has a field service engineer based on the project full time. The Hyundais have all been supplied by Johnstone’s local dealer Taylor & Braithwaite and the proven level of service available was a deciding factor in the purchase.

“We use the Hi-Mate telematic system and Taylor & Braithwaite will call us to flag up a fault code or to problem solve, before it even becomes a problem,” said Johnstone’s Plant Manager Jake Cunningham.

Sean Bargh, AE Yates’ Project Manager on site added: “I can’t speak highly enough of the Hyundais and of Taylor & Braithwaite.”

With other brands of dozer on the fleet already, Johnstone’s decision to go with the new HD130A followed a year-long cross-hire of a similar model, that proved its reliability. Launched at the Bauma exhibition in April, the HD130A is Hyundai’s first dozer in Europe, although the technology has been proven in other markets.

Weighing just over 15-tonnes, the mid-weight HD130A is powered by a 117kW (157hp) Stage V diesel engine, making it one of the most powerful in its class. This drives through a two-speed hydrostatic transmission, delivering up to 22,000kgf of drawbar pull. DA Johnstone has specified the machine in LGP configuration, with wider tracks and a 4.18m³ six-way angle-tilt blade. The dozer is also equipped with a three-tooth ripper at the rear.

Working with a fleet of articulated dump trucks and a soil compaction roller, the dozer will initially be used to create the access road that links the seven wind turbines and the new sub-station that will be built on site. Hyundai crawler excavators remove the top layer of peat and earth, before digging out the sandy lower layers of material, that are being compacted to create the road and turbine location bases. This is then topped with aggregate to provide a solid roadway for the delivery of turbine components.

Each of the wind farm’s turbines will arrive on site on up to 12 road haulage trucks, before being assembled in-situ. AE Yates is preparing the seven installation sites, with each base taking up to 70 tonnes of reinforcing steel, set in around 600m³ of concrete. The installations are surrounded by land drainage and there are ducts within the structure to accommodate the cables that will transmit electricity. These cables will be installed once the turbines are in position. The planning proposal for the project will see the turbines in operation for 35 years, after which they will be removed and the site restored.

DA Johnstone has GPS machine control on a number of its excavators and dozers, though the technology is not required at the Garbet site. The company does however make use of the machines’ standard telematic technology, for preventative maintenance, but also to provide clients with fuel consumption and operating data. This can be used for carbon reporting, which is increasingly common for the firm’s client base.

Though not on a fixed replacement schedule, the company tends to change its equipment every three to four years, depending on operating hours and condition. Here too the Hyundai machines are proving to be more than competitive. “The Hyundais really have good resale values,” said Mr Johnstone.

As Autumn progresses in the Highlands, the construction team on site at Garbet will be pushing ahead with a schedule that requires maximum machine uptime. For DA Johnstone, reliable machinery and a dealer that goes the extra mile to keep that equipment working will be essential to meet the clients requirements.