Boral’s Wollert quarry boosts efficiency of its 65-tonne Cat with XMOR® BHB 70 bucket

Operation: Quarrying
Excavator: CAT 365
Buckets: XMOR^® BHB 70 3.79-4.80 m³
Benefits: Higher productivity and operator satisfaction

“We had a 65-tonne digger that we were using for loading a haul truck, but we needed to get more efficiency out of it. The simple answer would be to get a bigger machine, but that didn’t stack up with the rest of the operation,” says quarry manager Andrew Rankin.

Instead of a larger excavator, Boral acquired an XMOR^® BHB 70 bucket from the Australian excavator attachment manufacturer the ONTRAC Group. It’s the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of XMOR^® buckets in Australia and has the capability to provide full support to its customers.

The Wollert quarry sees great benefits with the XMOR^® bucket in hard rock as well as in bulk digging of overburden. “With the hard rock, we’re still getting more capacity compared to a standard bucket, but with stuff like sand and clays, that’s where you get the full bang for buck out of the weight of the bucket,” explains Rankin.

The XMOR^® bucket features a unique inverted tub and heel segment design. This reduces ground contact and makes for a smoother digging operation with less strain on the operator and the machine. Since the wear is directed to the easily replaced heel segments, any maintenance stops are short and can be performed on site.

“As soon as you put a traditional bucket on it or the operators get on another machine, they comment that the machine is working harder and it’s harder on them,” says Rankin.