Volvo fleet helps Melbourne aggregates company thrive enhance productivity

Over the past four decades, Burdett Group, a landscaping aggregates supply business has expanded from a small family outfit in Melbourne, Australia, to one that includes a 7-acre site containing a garden supply outlet — all with the help of a fleet of high-performing machines from Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE). 

“In 2008, we purchased our first Volvo equipment — a L180F wheel loader,” said Andrew Burdett, director of the Burdett Group. “With the lack of wear and breakdowns, we found it to be a good machine, so we purchased more Volvo equipment and then it just became a good habit.” 

From one L180F wheel loader, the Burdett Group’s fleet of Volvo CE machines has since expanded to 16. Burdett says there’s no going back. 

“The Volvo machines have lower fuel consumption compared to other similar machines. With that first machine, we were able to increase our productivity and fuel economy,” Burdett said. 

Among their Volvo fleet, Burdett says the company’s favorite is the L260H wheel loader, which works 16-hours daily at a sand quarry in Lang Lang, helping to produce and load landscaping supplies. 

“We are most excited about the L260H because we are able to pick up about 12 tons in one pass, and load a truck-and-trailer combo in four passes, while previously it took six passes to load the vehicle,” Burdett said. 

The L260H is fitted with the V-ACT Stage IIIA, 13-liter diesel engine and a 7.3 m3 Volvo rehandling bucket to deliver a powerful and efficient performance. The LH260H is also available with a 6.4 m3 general purpose bucket. All L260H models deliver a high breakout force of 283.7 kN, a dump height of 3.1 m, and a 50 mm longer wheel base, along with the proven Z-bar linkage for strong, powerful digging in hard materials. 

The 16 machines are the second round of Volvo CE machinery the Burdett Group purchased and include articulated haulers, crawler excavators and wheel loaders. The fleet works at four different sites in the suburbs of Melbourne — a sand quarry at Lang Lang, a gravel quarry at Hallston, a production site at Cranbourne West and a production and retail site at Langwarrin. 

From carting raw materials for production, to loading finished products for retail, the fleet of Volvo equipment work 12-hour days on average to help the Burdett Group produce 3.5 million tons of aggregates annually. The company has supplied soil and sand for the construction of the Melbourne Cricket Ground; and pebbles for the Australian Grand Prix motor race. 

“We like Volvo equipment for its fuel economy,” Burdett said. “Operators absolutely love the Volvo machines because they are quiet and easy to operate.” 

The Burdett Group purchased its Volvo CE machines from CJD Equipment, Volvo CE’s Australian distribution partner. Burdett says over the past decade of working with CJD, he really appreciated their fast response to parts inquiries and services requests. 

“The speed of service is important for us because if one loader breaks down, it could hold up 20 trucks that are waiting to get loaded,” Burdett said. “We really like our fleet of Volvo equipment because they are high performing and reliable. Even though we have Volvo warranties, the best form of warranty is one you don’t need to use.”