Danoher Contracting’s bold decision to buy the first Sandvik UH450E ever to operate outside Scandinavia has been rewarded.

The revolutionary mobile cone crusher and screening unit recently completed its first major contract well ahead of schedule, demonstrating its ability to deliver an exceptionally high output combined with outstanding fuel efficiency.

According to Nicolan Govender, national sales manager for local Sandvik distributor Pilot Crushtec International, the UH450E passed its first test at a quarry in Verulam, KwaZulu- Natal, with flying colours.

“It was working in a mobile Sandvik train preceded by a UJ440 jaw crusher and US440 cone crusher, with the trio producing G2 sub-base material from blasted dolerite, which is no easy task,” he says.

The trio processed a <500mm feed and the new UH450E consistently produced a perfectly shaped 0 – 37,5mm product at a rate of 300 tonnes per hour.

Not only was this sufficient to reduce time spent on site by a significant margin but the fuel economy shown by the Sandvik units was equally impressive. The three machines’ total diesel consumption over the duration of the contract averaged no more than 100 litres per hour.

Danoher Contracting bought the machine to increase the volume of output necessary to gain a competitive advantage in the contractor market. A visit to the Sandvik stand at Germany’s Steinexpo 2014 earlier this year left Danoher’s director of operations Royden Webster in no doubt that the UH450E was the solution needed and wasted no time in placing an order for the 71 tonne machine.

Despite its impressive size, the Sandvik UH450E is relatively easy to transport and the machine is now working at Danoher’s Standerton site producing technically challenging G1 sub-base material for a major road renovation project.

Initial experiences with the UH450E have created a very favourable impression on Webster and his team.

“Apart from its very high output, we have discovered that it is a user friendly and versatile machine, so we can definitely say that it has met our original expectations. Fuel economy is also vitally important in a cost sensitive business like contracting and for the duration of the Verulam contract it was using no more than 35 litres per hour. It is true to say that there are some products on the market with similar rates of fuel consumption, however they do not produce anything like the tonnages were are gaining from the Sandvik UH450E,” he says.

This fuel efficiency is derived from the fact that the UH450E is powered by a diesel generator set as opposed to a conventional diesel engine. The Volvo TAD 1641 500kVA powers electric motors on the crushing and screening units enabling high volume outputs at a relatively minimal operating cost.

Service is also a crucial factor in the contractor market and Webster rates the service and support rendered by Pilot Crushtec International to Danoher’s growing Sandvik fleet as ‘the best in the country at this moment’.

Sandvik UH 450E: specifications at a glance

• Sandvik CH440 hydrocone
• LF850 double deck linear motion screen
• SS1221 double deck pre-screen
• Maximum feed size 215mm
• High performance recirculating conveyor
• Power plant Volvo TAD1641 GE 500kVA
• Transport dimensions 19,50m (L), 3,50 (W), 4,45 (H)