Volvo ABG6870 paver delivers

Ashmac Construction Ltd of Northampton in central England has taken delivery of a Volvo ABG 6870 wheeled paver following successful trials and valued third party references.

“It has proven over numerous sites since taking ownership that we have made the correct choice,” said company director Greg Emonds. “The crew who are with this particular paver love its performance, manoeuvrability and the ease in which they can operate it – whether it’s in the daytime or at night using the xenon working lights. This is a key feature for us as a lot of our work is carried out at night due to traffic sensitivity or location.”

The ABG6870 features continuous independent traction control over all six wheels and is powered by a Tier III 122kW engine. The operator is able to use the ‘Smart Power’ setting to vary the power output depending on the conditions of the application. Running nominally at just 1600rpm, the ABG6870 is said to offer extremely low noise emissions besides being highly fuel efficient. 359 Volvo CE claims the 6x6 Smart Drive technology on the ABG6870 offers unparalleled traction. Even on the most difficult bases, tractive effort is automatically adjusted according to ground condition and the weight of material available in the machine’s 12tonne capacity hopper.

Additionally, the wheeled paver is said to demonstrate a class beating degree of manoeuvrability thanks to the Active Steering feature with an inside turning radius of just 2.5m. This coupled to individual suspension struts is said allow the paver to overcome obstacles in one go that rival models can only do after several complicated manoeuvres.

Screed performance is said to be a distinct feature on Volvo ABG pavers. The ABG6870 has a variable screed width of between 2.5 and 5m in standard configuration but can be fitted with optional extensions to provide a width of 9ms. With an output potential of up to 700tonnes per hour, the machine is capable of continuously paving up to 40m per minute. While a normal layer thickness of 50mm at high speed is said to be easily achievable, the ABG6870 can, for certain applications, lay up to a 300mm maximum thickness.

“I know how important the speed and accuracy of the screed is to the crew, as coming up from the tools myself and being an operator in the past and being around different pavers for most of my working life it can add hours on to each shift,” said Emonds. “The accuracy of the level control, the finish on the new mat and the operation of the extensions are the most important factors for any screed. The Volvo ABG 6870’s screed scores highly in all areas in our opinion.”

Having experienced several months ‘bedding in’ at 7286 Ashmac Construction, the ABG6870 is said to be proving to be a highly reliable and versatile machine for the company’s prestigious joint venture contract for Hertfordshire Highways which entails road maintenance and renewals across the county. The machine has been supplied with a Volvo Blue Service Agreement.