German engineering impresses Brookland Aggregates

by Nick Drew | Thu 17 Nov 2016

German engineering impresses Brookland Aggregates

Having tried a Liebherr R 922 hydraulic excavator during a demonstration day event the Cornish based company purchased a unit to join their already extensive Liebherr fleet.

Brookland Sand & Aggregates Ltd was formed in March 2010, after Barry Cleave and his son Marshall purchased the Gunheath Quarry operation from Aggregate Industries. This dynamic young company has the backing of a highly experienced management team, that is very knowledgeable in materials processing , mobile plant and production equipment. The company produces granite aggregates and sands suitable for paths, driveways, horse arenas and for general building uses. The business also supplies materials to producers of ready mixed concrete and concrete blocks. Since March 2010 Brookland Sand & Aggregates has processed and sold over 2.3 million tonnes of sand and aggregates, to both local and national customers. Over a third of the business is outside of Cornwall including large volumes sold into the London market. 001

Brookland Sand & Aggregates preferred machines when it comes to wheeled loaders are Liebherr, having purchased their first L 564 model in 2005/6 to feed the screening plant. That first machine proved to be incredibly reliable and by the time it was traded in it had attained 26000 hours on the meter. That machine was followed by two more L 564’s and an L 554 all of which have since gone with high hours on them. 014

Today the company run no less than seven Liebherr wheeled loading shovels comprising L 550, L 554, L 564, L 566, L 576 and two L 580’s. Commenting on the company’s affection for the German machines Marshall Cleave said, “We find Liebherr shovels offer us the best return on our investment because they are extremely reliable even with high hours on them. Our current L 564 has 19,000 hours on the clock and the L 566 has 16,000 hours on it. We have no plans to change these machines yet as they are both still reliable work horses working in the front line of the production process. The machines have also proven to be the most efficient when it comes to fuel economy. Liebherr Weston Super-mare are always helpful when on the rare occasion there is a problem with the machines and the engineers are well trained and always find the faults promptly, resulting in as little down time as possible”. 017

Having been impressed with the Liebherr shovels over the years the company decided to opt for one of the German construction machinery giants excavators the R 922. Launched at Bauma in Munich in 2013, the French built R 922 Litronic is the replacement for the old R 906 and joins the R 918 and R 926 in the company’s medium excavator weight range. 018

These machines now feature a more logical model numbering system with the R 922 competing in the 21 to 22 tonne class bracket. The machine is powered by a Liebherr D 834 A7 four cylinder diesel engine which has a power output rating of 105kw (143hp). 019

See what Marshall Cleave has to say about the R 922 in this testimonial video.

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