Skip to main content

Doosan excavators key to Germany B 2 highway upgrade

Thannhauser + Ulbricht Straßen- und Tiefbau (TU) is employing four new Doosan DA30 articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and a new Doosan DX490LC-3 crawler excavator for the earthmoving work during the upgrade of Germany’s B2 federal highway. The machines being used by TU, based in Fremdingen, southern Germany, belong to the rental fleet of Rühle Maschinenpark from Untermünkheim-Haagen.
April 2, 2014 Read time: 4 mins
Thannhauser + Ulbricht Straßen- und Tiefbau (TU) is employing four new 695 Doosan DA30 articulated dump trucks (ADTs) and a new Doosan DX490LC-3 crawler excavator for the earthmoving work during the upgrade of Germany’s B2 federal highway.

The machines being used by TU, based in Fremdingen, southern Germany, belong to the rental fleet of Rühle Maschinenpark from Untermünkheim-Haagen.

The B2 is one of Germany's oldest highways and runs the entire length of the country, north to south, covering a distance of 845km. South of Nuremberg, it forms one of the most important connections between the city of Nuremberg and Augsburg.  Due to the high volume of traffic, a stretch of 3.6km is now being widened from two to four lanes near to the town of Roth.  

As the part of the road being doubled in size requires the construction of an additional carriageway, it needs not only a new bridge be built but also some 275,000m³ of excavated earth to be moved.  The quality of part of the 275,000m³ of excavated earth will be improved, before it is put back in place, while the rest will be removed from the site.  

Since the beginning of construction work in April 2013, ten hectares of forest land has been cleared and 61,000m³ of surface soil removed, with the project planned for completion at some stage in 2014. Shortly after the project started, it became evident that due to the high proportion of sand in the ground, coupled with heavy rainfall saturating and softening the earth, the composition of the excavated soil made it unsuitable for hauling away with conventional construction site trucks.  For this reason, TU began a search for a company that could provide them at short notice with four ADTs and a 50tonne excavator on a long-term lease basis.

Rühle Maschinenpark was able to meet this requirement, supplying the five heavy-duty Doosan machines within ten days.  The company's director, Achim Rühle, said, “Though we didn't have four dump trucks ready in the yard, through our position as a Doosan dealership, we were able to obtain the machines from the Doosan fleet holding to meet our client's needs."

The Doosan fleet makes a series of machines available for leasing to Doosan dealerships.  In this way, Doosan dealers can also react to client requests without making high investments, even for machines they do not have in their own rental fleet.  In fact, the close relationship with Doosan made it possible for the Doosan DX490LC-3 50tonne excavator to be delivered straight to site from a trade fair.  

Used around nine hours a day, the Doosan equipment is said to be very popular with the operators on site, handling the difficult ground conditions without a problem, while delivering excellent performance.

The Doosan DA30 ADT offers a 28tonne load capacity. It is powered by a five-cylinder Scania DC9 diesel engine with a gross output of 276kW, which meets the new Stage IIIB emissions regulations.  Its gross torque (1873Nm at 1300RPM) ensures the DA30 ADT offers excellent traction which is needed to operate in such difficult conditions. At a top speed of 58km/h, it achieves a fuel consumption that is said to be groundbreaking in its class.

The 50tonne Doosan DX490LC-3 crawler excavator has an Isuzu AL-6WG1X six-cylinder diesel engine with variable geometry turbocharge.  It utilises EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) and DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) technology to meet the Stage IIIB emissions requirements.  It delivers 290kW at 1800 RPM and is claimed to have a strikingly low fuel consumption rate.  Thanks to new hydraulic pumps and valves, it has been possible to increase the digging forces by 3 to 6% in comparison to the previous DX480LC model.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Long hours in Yorkshire, UK, for Doosan’s latest machines
    August 21, 2015
    Heavy-duty quarry work is the order of the day for new Doosan DX420LC-3 and DX340LC-3 crawler excavators, together with two new DL550-3 and three new DL420-3 wheel loaders. Wentvalley Aggregates & Recycling in county Yorkshire in the UK purchased the machines for its Wentbridge site where they work alongside other generation machines, the Doosan DL450 wheel loader and Doosan DX225LC excavator. The quarry supplies limestone products, including single-size and all primary blended products from crusher runs
  • Excavator delivers high productivity
    February 16, 2012
    A Case CX700B excavator is delivering high productivity for an extraction application in Germany's volcanic Eifel region.
  • A1 invests in Hyundai excavator and Powerscreen crusher
    May 19, 2015
    A UK demolition provider has boosted its investment in Hyundai and Powerscreen equipment, including a new Powerscreen Premiertrak 300R mobile crusher and Chieftain 1700 screen. A1 Demolition & Services, based in Nottinghamshire, England, recently spent nearly US$750,000 on the equipment. It picked up a Hyundai R220LC-9A crawler excavator and a Hyundai HL770-9 wheeled loader, alongside a Powerscreen Premiertrak 300R mobile crusher and Chieftain 1700 screen. The investment is A1’s plan to adapt to environm
  • Versatile machines offer improved efficiency
    April 28, 2015
    An array of versatile new machines from different segments is available for the rental sector - Mike Woof writes The rental machine market continues to develop in many countries around the world. Equipment rental has a long history in the UK and the US and in more recent years has developed well in France also, while other countries are also benefiting from growth in this sector. As with other machines, equipment for the European and US rental sector now has to meet tough exhaust and noise emissions legi