First Bell E-series delivered to Ballito Crushers

Bell Equipment has delivered the first of its new E-series Articulated Dump Trucks to Ballito Crushers in northern KwaZulu-Natal, which is looking forward to using the state-of-the-art technology of the B25E and its many safety features to positively impact their quarry business.

Clive Damant, founder of Ballito Crushers said: “We didn’t realise our ADT was the first one to be delivered in the country; it’s very exciting. We’ve been running old series B20Ds and although we’ve been pleased with their productivity and performance, we have opted for the B25E because of the higher payload and related cost efficiencies. Our new truck is also 6x6 as opposed to the 6x4 B20Ds, which will better suit our quarrying application going forward as we require good traction.”

According to Damant the B25E, with its 100% mechanical availability, will be the prime mover of material into the crusher jaw to ensure that the operation runs seamlessly.

Ballito Crushers supplies crusher dust, predominantly to the local block yards, 19mm concrete stone, G2 and G5 road gravels as well as G7 natural overburden. The growth in the Ballito area has created a huge demand for material from Ballito Crushers. Already the company has supplied aggregates for the road infrastructure in the Simbithi Eco Estate, Brettonwood and Dunkirk estates as well as parts of the prestigious Zimbali development.

"We’ve introduced a new fleet of crushers to increase our production, which currently sits at about 30 000 tons per month. Damant attributes the increase in demand largely to the nearby King Shaka International Airport. “The airport has been a magnet to development. There are now four large shopping centres in the Ballito and surrounding areas that have opened in the last ten years along with industrial and residential development.”

To keep pace with development investment into infrastructure is also taking place with a contract to widen the off-ramps on the N2 highway at Ballito as well as a separate contract to double the existing road through the now bustling coastal town.

Meanwhile, complementing the B25E and B20D are two Bell L1506 Wheeled Loaders and a Bell 1430 Excavator, to assist in loading road trucks and overburden respectively. The Bell fleet is fully serviced by Bell Umhlali and Damant comments: "One breakdown has a ripple effect throughout the operation so availability is critical. We’ve never had a problem with downtime because of the good service we receive and that is why we stick with Bell."