SANY Mining is gearing up to expand sales of its rigid haul truck range, as well as developing new models - Mike Woof writes. The global rigid dump truck market is at present dominated by a small number of manufacturers, but SANY Mining intends to challenge its main rivals internationally, having developed its presence in its home market. SANY Mining is continuing to expand its SRT range of off-highway dump trucks, as well as boosting its sales of these machines in China and for export.
SANY Mining is gearing up to expand sales of its rigid haul truck range, as well as developing new models - Mike Woof writes
The global rigid dump truck market is at present dominated by a small number of manufacturers, butThe company completed the first prototypes for the SRT55 rigid hauler in 2007 with the production versions then starting to roll off the production line in 2008. Development of the SRT line-up has continued and the firm is offering machines with payloads of 33, 45 and 95tonnes as well. Sales are growing and SANY further boost sales of the machines in 2014. At present most of the trucks are supplied to customers in China but much of this sales growth is expected to come from increasing exports. Over the next two to three years, up to 50% of truck sales will be to export markets and the firm is already making progress as it supplies machines to customers in Chile, South Africa, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Hongfu Yu is vice president of SANY Heavy Industry and chairman and general manager of SANY Heavy Machinery. He explained that 2013 saw a 100% increase in sales and profits compared to 2012 and believes this division will continue to grow its performance as its exports develop further.
SANY’s current truck assembly line can build up to nine trucks of differing size at the same time. However production capacity is set to increase as the firm is setting up a parallel line that will begin production in 2014. Looking further ahead, the firm may increase production capacity further by having a separate assembly line for each model.
Zhichun Cao is deputy general of SANY Heavy Equipment International Holdings and general manager of SANY Mining Equipment and said that SANY is investing heavily in the rigid truck range. All of the truck models have been designed and developed in-house and are based on well-proven design principles. The smallest model in the range, the SRT33, is also the simplest and has drum brakes at the front. The other trucks are more sophisticated and have disc brakes at the front and all-enclosed, multi-disc, oil-cooled disc brakes at the rear. According to SANY, this all-enclosed rear brake system is a key technology for its rigid trucks, delivering reliable braking without fading or overheating during long haul road descents. The rear braking system has been developed in-house and features a number of design patents. All four trucks feature a conventional McPherson strut front suspension layout using gas-filled dampers, which is said to offer good operator comfort.
The dump bodies have three small lateral ribs welded across the full width towards the rear, which help with load retention during steep climbs. The lateral ribs also help the load to roll during discharge, reducing wear and tear on the dump body.
SANY claims that its quarry trucks compare favourably with those from leading competitors, with the 95tonner offering better fuel efficiency than rival 91tonners. Yu said that the SANY 95tonner is 10-15% cheaper to buy than the leading rival truck on the global market, while also being able to outperform other similarly-sized rigid haulers on the market. The SANY SRT95 weighs in at 64tonnes unladen while its biggest rival in the Chinese rigid truck market for this class tips the scales at 68tonnes when empty. Featuring the V12 Cummins QST30 diesel the 95tonne capacity SRT95 also offers a fuel saving of 8% and 5% better capacity than this main rival in China, which has a 91tonne payload and an earlier generation Cummins KTI-38 diesel. Yu said that the SRT95 also offers better operator comfort than its main rival in China, thanks to the more sophisticated front suspension design, as well as better gradeability due to its more modern body profile.
The SANY SRT95 features the firm’s in-house developed on-board monitoring system for reversing and parking, while all models offer heated bodies, dual seating and air conditioning as standard. Coming in 2014 will be the SRT95C, which will offer further improvements in performance and stability. Cao said that SANY has no plans to develop a diesel-hydraulic excavator to match the 95tonner but intends to design and build an electric shovel to match the model instead, which will be introduced in 2014. He added that the firm’s SRT33 truck is designed to be matched with SANY’s own 465 excavator.
Larger trucks are planned and SANY Mining has produced two of the 230tonne capacity models, which were shown at
Meanwhile the firm also has its first ADT well on the way to production. This model will be introduced in May 2014. The truck is powered by a
Cao said the total Chinese rigid truck market is worth 800-1,000 units, and that his aim is to get to a 10% share of the global rigid truck within the next five years. However Cao said that the company intends to continue to grow its international presence in the rigid dump truck sector even after this point and to become a dominant player in the segment. SANY has high hopes for its presence in the extraction industries and intends to introduce some very sophisticated models in the near future that will challenge even the best know international companies.
