Located 50 km from the capital Doha, Qatar Primary Materials operates one of the world’s largest sand cleaning plants. With temperatures reaching 40°C and 64,000 tonnes of aggregate needed to be handled for every export shipment, Volvo’s wheel loaders are keeping cool under pressure.
Rather than putting its head in the sand, Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) is helping to clean it in the gas rich state of Qatar. In 40°C heat and above, Volvo CE is involved in one of the country’s largest industrial operations – having provided Qatari Primary Materials Co (QPMC) with a fleet of machines to help the state-owned company meet the needs of both local and international markets.
QPMC provides complete solutions for the excavation, transport, storage and delivery of key primary materials in Qatar and the wider region. The company also operates the world’s largest sand-cleaning plant, based surprisingly in one of the country’s smallest municipalities – Mesaieed. Located just 50 km from the capital city of Doha, QPMC’s revolutionary facility produces a monumental 1,180 tons of clean sand an hour.
To keep up with the frantic demand
Volvo CE has three key machines working tirelessly on site, providing what has been described as an unrivalled service compared to competitor machines, says assistant manager, Syed Waqar Ali. “We chose Volvo because, unlike some Chinese brands that we have experience with, the machines do not break down easily,” he adds. “They have lasted for years in tough working conditions for 22 to 24 hours a day. The machines have been outstanding and are still in good condition, considering we bought them back in 2009. They are unloading 64,000 tons of gravel in every export shipment, which sometimes requires the loaders to redouble their efforts on specific days of the month so we can get orders off in time.”
The complete Volvo experience
Volvo CE’s L150F, L180F and L180G are the three different models of wheel loaders that work in alliance with Volvo Trucks on site, specifically built to handle the heavy-loading of smooth sand and gravel as well as various rocks and residue. The L180G, one of Volvo’s newest G-Series models is fitted with Volvo’s 13 liter six cylinder turbocharged V-ACT (Volvo Advanced Combustion Technology) off-highway diesel engine, which features cooled gas recirculation and a particulate filter with active regeneration. The Volvo G-Series wheel loaders boast a 20% increase in lifting force and 10% increase in breakout force, compared to their predecessors. The new improvement ensures smooth, full buckets – resulting in faster cycle times and increased productivity.
Also, thanks to Volvo’s CareTrack telematics system available on the L180G, site analysts can record how the machines are performing. With the tracking system they can assess fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, engine speed and a range of other performance metrics, allowing for greater fleet control.
