“Little Giants” might be an apt description for the two new Terex TR70 rigid haul trucks Suzio/York Hill Trap Rock Co. recently added to its quarry operations.
The last time Suzio purchased quarry trucks was in 1968. The trucks are still being used in the quarry on a daily basis, but the age of the trucks and obtaining parts was becoming somewhat of an issue.
“We had very little exposure to Terex products previous to this purchase. We had used a couple of articulated trucks, but they are not really designed for our application. They are meant to be fed by an excavator, not a loader, and are not the ideal tool for quarry applications,” said Scott Suzio, vice president of operations, of Suzio/York Hill Trap Rock Co.
The TR70 trucks were purchased shortly after Suzio and Gary Floyd, of Terex, took a trip to North Carolina to see first hand the trucks at work.
“We were at a Martin Marietta facility in North Carolina where I was given the opportunity to operate the trucks and speak to the facility’s supervisor who had very high praises for the Terex equipment,” Suzio said.
Suzio was impressed with the TR70’s updated technology. Basically Terex took an 85-ton (77 t) truck and redesigned the frame, shortened the wheel base and converted the machine to a 70-ton (63 t) truck making it very strong.
“The Terex trucks are an all new product that have been totally redesigned and engineered,” Suzio said. “However, we had a couple of modifications made to the truck, which did delay delivery a little bit —primarily, the installation of rock liners in the bed. Not all trucks haul as heavy a material as we do so additional protection was necessary.”
Setup Quick and Easy
The TR70s were delivered to the quarry by a 13 ft. 9 in. (4.2 m) truck, which would have created a problem carrying them over the road. But Terex deflated nitrogen from the suspension system, which lowered the trucks by 6 in. (15 cm).
The trucks were unloaded on a Thursday and by Monday both trucks had the bodies mounted on them. Tuesday, the machines were completely serviced, set up and ready to be inspected. On Wednesday, the Terex TR70s started hauling.
“We received our delivery in late May. Since then, we have seen tremendous increases in our quarry production. We are now pulling 175 ton per cycle where previously we were running 135 ton per cycle. Our projected increases in production can fluctuate by how far the trucks are hauling to the crusher,” he said.
Suzio also was impressed with some of the trucks other features.
“Since we’ve had the trucks at the quarry, we have really appreciated its increased visibility and its low loading height, only 12 feet, 5 inches. This was important to us because our loaders had only been loading 50-ton trucks and would have had difficulty with heights that would exceed 12 feet, 5 inches,” explained Suzio.
“We have also noted that the 70-ton trucks are a little faster than the 50-ton trucks and we are seeing a tremendous savings in fuel. The Terex trucks are operating all day on 35 to 50 gallons of fuel. The amount varies by the length of the hauls. With this type of investment we expect a good long life out of the Terex, at least 30 years,” Suzio concluded.
For the long haul, Terex TR70’s small design coupled with the ability to haul heavy payloads economically will prove that they are the “Little Giants” at the Suzio/York Hill Trap Rock quarry.
History
Leonardo Suzio, an Italian immigrant, established a construction company in 1898. Three generations later, it is still a family-owned group of companies. The Suzio/York Hill Companies to which Suzio/York Hill Trap Rock belongs is headquartered in Meriden, CT.
For more information, call 888/789-4626 or visit www.suzioyorkhill.com. CEG
Today's top stories
