41
d
&
ri
JULY-AUGUST 2013
V
olvo has recently delivered the first
of its Stage 3B/Tier IV Interim
compliant EC480D Series machines
to Swiss contractor HTP SA, based in Vernier,
just outside Geneva, where it will be put to
work on sites around that city. It first moved
onto a site that would allow the operator to
gain experience on a machine its
size (HTP had previously owned a
smaller 30 tonne Hitachi high reach)
and has now recently completed
demolition work to clear the site of
a former government office block
on Geneva’s Rue de stand 20 to
make the site available for future
redevelopment.
The 480D provides a reach of
27 m (88.6 ft) and has an operating
weight of 61.2 tonnes. It has a
maximum forward reach of 16 m
(52.5 ft), can carry a 3 tonne tool
(including any quick coupler) and
can operate over the tracks to a maximum
angle of 15 degrees. The new machine
comes as standard with bucket and boom
cylinder guards, slewing ring protection,
frame mounted FOG guard, micro-mesh
screens on doors and engine cowling, bolt-on
impact protection system, enhanced under-
guarding, full length track guards, a Total
Moment Indicator, a hydraulically retractable
undercarriage for easier transport and a 125
mm (7 inch) camera on the high reach boom
for better visibility and safer operation.
With a total volume of 2,000 m
3
(70,630
ft
3
), the mixed 3 and 2 storey L-shaped
structure, built largely of concrete and brick,
is in close proximity to a live road at the
front and another modern office building to
the side. This required the construction of a
Swiss first
for Volvo
D Series
IN ACTION
Swiss contractor HTP is the first European company to
put Volvo’s new D Series high reach to serious work
A scaffold protection structure was required on the
front of the office block to protect passers-by from
falling debris
scaffold and screened protection system to
ensure that no demolition debris could fall
outside the site and cause damage. Demolition
of the front and side facades is being carried
by HTP personnel using hand tools, with
the high reach being employed at the rear of
the structure where it can carry out selective
demolition in safety.
Work began on the site in early February
and was expected to be completed by early
June. All demolition waste arising from
the demolition was crushed on site by the
company’s RubbleMaster RM80 tracked unit,
and either used on site as fill for forthcoming
construction or transported away for use
elsewhere around the city.
HTP was formed by Yves Huguenin 15
years ago, and the company has grown over
that time to employ more than 70 personnel,
making use of a 24 machine fleet, which is
largely made up of other Volvo machines of
varying sizes. The high reach is the biggest
machine in the fleet and according to Yves,
will allow the company to tender for contracts
that were previously out of its reach.
■
The front façade of
the building has to be
demolished by hand to
ensure safety
The EC480D HR is, to
D&Ri’s knowledge,
the only production
high reach currently
available with a Stage
3B compliant engine
The new machine joins an equipment fleet
that is 80% Volvo
