“Man’s Best Friend” Enjoys Hyundai Excavator Cab Comfort Too

In 2021, Fibran acquired Gessi Roccastrada, the company that owned the two largest natural chalk quarries and plants in the Tuscan mining basin. This consolidated Fibran’s presence in the Italian and European markets for dry construction systems and chalk-based building materials. Today, Fibran owns and manages a total of 700 hectares in ‘Chalk Valley’, including three active quarries and two undergoing environmental restoration, with deposits that could potentially be exploited in decades to come.

The optimization of quarry machinery plays an important role in the management of extractive operations. The movement of earth and chalk rock is a crucial part of the process and recently required the addition of a new dump truck to the Fibran fleet.Felice Tirabasso, Chief Technology Officer of Fibran and Gessi Roccastrada, has been recognized as an expert in quarrying operations in Italy and abroad for over 25 years. After a meticulous selection process, his choice fell decisively on the new Develon DA45-7 6x6 articulated dump truck, the first to be sold in Italy in the 45 tonne class.At the ‘Chalk Valley’ quarry, the DA45-7 transports both chalk rock and waste soil from surface excavations over an average in-out distance of four kilometres. This type of work demands a fast-moving, highly manoeuvrable vehicle and the DA45-7 has proved to be just the job.

As Felice Tirabasso explains, “Many factors contributed to our choice of the DA45-7 dump truck. A great deal of care went into the selection process, thanks in no small way to Develon’s willingness to show me the vehicle in action elsewhere, in central-northern England in particular, where the machine is also being used in quarrying. One extremely important feature of this machine compared to others on the market, is its separate control of its front axle and free-swinging rear tandem bogie, which enables the vehicle to follow the terrain and prevents slippage and sliding. The DA45-7 is also very simple and robust, with a high load capacity, excellent engine power and an exceptionally comfortable cab, something we pay a great deal of attention to with a view to maximizing operator wellbeing.”

In the dual purpose version of the DX140RDM-7, the pin height and maximum tool weight are 14 m and 1450 kg, respectively (with a 2 m extension as an option). All the components such as the undercarriage, the tilting cab and the shoes remain the same as in the fixed version, only the modular boom design and hydraulic lock mechanism are different, allowing the user to swap between the demolition and digging arms.The innovative design ensures it is a simple process to change between a demolition boom and an earthmoving boom to accomplish different types of work on the same project. A special stand is provided to facilitate the boom changing operation, which is based on quick-change hydraulic and mechanical coupler connections. A cylinder-based system is used to push the locking pins into place to help complete the procedure.The multi-boom design also allows the earthmoving boom to be mounted in two different ways, which with the demolition boom, provides further flexibility with a total of three different configurations for the dual purpose base machine.Hydraulically Adjustable Undercarriage

The DX140RDM-7 has a hydraulically adjustable undercarriage, which extends to a maximum width of 3.7 m to provide optimum stability when working on demolition sites. The width of the undercarriage can be retracted hydraulically to 2.5 m in the narrow width position, which is ideal for transporting the machine. The mechanism is based on a permanently lubricated, internal cylinder design which minimises resistance during the movement and helps to prevent damage to the components.Like all Develon demolition excavators, standard safety features on the DX140RDM-7 include a FOGS cab guard, safety valves for the boom, intermediate boom and arm cylinders and a stability warning system.