Skip to main content

Liebherr and Sandvik add to machine fleets for construction operations in Germany

For more than six months, German contractor Jens Weiss has been using Sandvik’s new surface drilling rig Ranger DX800, with noted low fuel consumption per metre drilled. The Ranger DX800 is a hydraulic, self-propelled, self-contained, crawler-type surface drilling rig. It is equipped with Sandvik-designed safety features to bring it into line with EU standard EN 16228. Typical applications are road cutting, pipeline drilling and foundation drilling, as well as production drilling in medium-size quarries.
February 9, 2017 Read time: 4 mins
First upgraded Ranger DX800 in Germany impresses
For more than six months, German contractor Jens Weiss has been using Sandvik’s new surface drilling rig Ranger DX800, with noted low fuel consumption per metre drilled.

The Ranger DX800 is a hydraulic, self-propelled, self-contained, crawler-type surface drilling rig. It is equipped with 325 Sandvik-designed safety features to bring it into line with EU standard EN 16228. Typical applications are road cutting, pipeline drilling and foundation drilling, as well as production drilling in medium-size quarries.

Jens Weiss, a provider of drilling and blasting services, is located in Annaberg-Buchholz in the Erzgebirge, a mountain region in Saxony. His Ranger DX800 is the first fully radio remote controlled upgraded variant of the series in Germany, enabling it to drill, set-up and tram by remote control. Together with a DC125 and a DQ500, it is now operating throughout Erzgebirge and Thuringia and in the Czech Republic.

“About wear and oil consumption I can’t comment as yet [due to the relatively short time of ownership]. However, I was positively surprised about fuel consumption which has been excellent,” says owner Jens Weiss. The company has been using Sandvik equipment since 1992 and has been involved in construction of the Jagtbergtunnel, the fourth largest in Germany, in 2009 where 10,000 anchors were installed by Jens Weiss using three Sandvik drilling rigs

“We tend to concentrate more intensively on our region, in order to avoid high transport charges and to operate in an environmentally compatible way,” says Weiss. Therefore, it was decided to expand by investing in the new radio remote controlled Ranger DX800. “The revolving superstructure was one of the outstanding features and the decision criterion for choosing this Sandvik model,” says Weiss.

“On site, the rig has a large drilling coverage from one position, in excess of 26m², without moving the rig. Further highlights are the environmentally friendly engine technology, the low fuel consumption per drill metre, as well as the new high frequency rock drill,” Jens added. Furthermore, the Ranger DX800

Meanwhile, the company Pongratz Schotterwerk in Ensdorf-Wolfsbach in Bavaria state has been using a 718 Liebherr R 980 SME crawler excavator in their 15-hectare limestone quarry since May.

The family company says development of the quarry requires a crawler excavator with high capacity. The tough geological conditions with uneven excavation beds, as well as a large area of solid rock with soil, can now be developed in the coming years using the R 980 SME.

The 100tonne Liebherr R 980 SME excavator is at the face of the quarry loading dumper trucks, and in the overburden, working in tandem with an earlier Liebherr R 954 S-HD.

Because of this, the excavators must be compatible with each other. The R 980 SME is configured with a 6m³ HD bucket to produce 400tonnes per hour. "The new excavator loads a dumper truck with 40tonnes in four cycles and a dumper truck with 50tonnes in five cycles," explains Ulrike Pongratz. "There is time, then, between the loading cycles for sorting and the drop ball operation."

Numerous protective devices on the machine, together with a product range adapted especially for operation in the quarry, played a huge role for the company to acquire another Liebherr, explains Alexander Pongratz, technical head of the family-run company.

SME stands for "Super Mass Excavation" where the crawler excavators are equipped with a reinforced undercarriage featuring suspension components from the next model up in the standard range. For the R 980 SME this is the undercarriage of the R 9100 mining excavator, he says.

Combined with a heavy counterweight, the larger enables the use of larger capacity buckets for the machine’s size. The equipment, such as stick and bucket cylinder, has larger dimensions and offers higher digging and breakout forces with the adapted kinematics.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Earthmoving machine advances
    June 10, 2019
    One of the most competitive segments of the off-highway equipment sector, it is no surprise that earthmoving machinery is seeing a wide array of new models coming to market - Mike Woof writes Competition is tough in the market for earthmoving equipment. Manufacturers from Europe, the US, Japan, Korea and China are all vying for increased market share across the globe. Firms are developing new models and widening product lines, with a wide range of excavator, wheeled loader, dozer, grader and soil compact
  • Caterpillar has developed new wheeled loader solutions
    September 30, 2013
    Caterpillar’s new wheeled loader represents a new direction in the firm’s aim to develop machines to meet specific needs - Mike Woof reports Caterpillar’s 986H and 988K wheeled loaders are significant introductions for the firm, having been developed to meet the needs of entirely different market segments. The 988K takes the place of the earlier 988H model and this new machine features the latest low emission engine technology, suiting it to use in North America and Europe. Powered by a 403kW diesel the mac
  • Utility machines with cutting edge design and efficiency
    May 29, 2013
    Utility machines with standout efficiency and cutting-edge cab design have come onto the market during the first few months of 2013. Guy Woodford looks at some of them. Case Construction Equipment and New Holland Construction have brought out what they claim are the market’s first Tier 4 Final emissions standard midi-excavators. The CX75C SR and CX80C models from Case are said to offer more performance power and greater operator cabin comfort than previous models. Tier 4 Final standards are said to have bee
  • Fast flyover removal with specialist demolition equipment
    July 12, 2012
    An overcrowded Indian flyover was removed in record time using specialist demolition equipment, as Patrick Smith reports Demolition of the landmark Lalbaug flyover south of central Mumbai has been completed and work on a new bigger bridge has started in India's largest city. Although the 38-year-old Sant Dnyaneshwar (Lalbaug flyover) two-lane, one-way traffic artery was serviceable and used by to 15,000 vehicles/hour, there were daily traffic jams and environmental consequences. Despite the complex and dema