The nearly 100-year-old Zand- en Grindhandel Bruls in Schinnen is in the midst of a transition in which nature and recreation are being given more space in the Limburg countryside. To give shape to this, a special long-reach crawler excavator was needed, which the company found at Develon.
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For a long time, the Limburg quarries of Schinnen and Spaubeek were the domain of the yellow-colored earthmoving machines of Zand- en Grindhandel Bruls BV in Schinnen. In 1928, the family business started sand extraction in both owned quarries. In recent years, the idea arose to give the quarries a new purpose. “As a company, we want to move away from excavation because it actually no longer fits in a country like the Netherlands,” says Alexander van 't Goor, the current owner of Zand- en Grindhandel Bruls. “It is an economically challenging activity, and public support for it is declining. Furthermore, we are located in a high-quality landscape area, and I want to give the next generation a sustainable future.”
In 2023, the Spaubeek quarry was completed as a nature reserve, but there was no concrete final destination yet for the exhausted Schinnen quarry. To address this, Bruls and the Municipality of Schinnen jointly developed the Groevepark SILT plan. Initially, this envisioned a recreational lake and area, eventually including a holiday park and solar park. To realize the recreational lake, Bruls started further excavating the quarry last year. “We are only going deeper, and with the groundwater at 40 to 50 centimeters below ground level, we are now digging down to 10 meters underwater.”
By the end of April, the 38-ton DX380LC-7 had run for over 200 hours, and Bruls is extremely satisfied with the machine. “It is a superb machine, and we are very happy with our choice.”
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Tommy Trommelen of Trommelen BV in Brunssum (L.) offers various brands and models of crawler machines. The two entrepreneurs work closely together and are both operators. Together, they went in search of a machine with the right long-reach boom and sufficient capacity. Various alternatives were considered. Rushing into things was not an option, so a potentially suitable crawler excavator was first rented for a year. A 30-ton excavator proved to be too light, so the rented machine became one in the 38-ton class. From the brand that, at that time, had already been the preferred supplier to Zand- en Grindhandel Bruls for 40 years. “Because wet sand extraction was new to us, we wanted to gain experience with that first.”
Due to Trommelen’s positive experiences with both Doosan and Develon machines, as well as with the Develon dealer, the latter was also invited for a meeting. Trommelen: “I am not particularly brand-loyal, but my experience is that Develon stands head and shoulders above all other brands in terms of price-quality ratio.” Van 't Goor: “We were, of course, familiar with Develon, but we had no experience with it. During the first meeting, the dealer immediately inspired confidence. There was an instant connection, and they understood better than anyone what we wanted and what type of earthmoving machine was suitable for it. They think along with you, communication lines are short, and they act quickly. That prompted us to act quickly as well, and then we made the decision together.”
The crawler excavator is equipped with, among other things, extra-wide track plates, 4 tons of extra counterweight, bucket kinematics with heavier cylinders to break up the sand underwater, and two automatic lubrication systems.
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It was already clear that Bruls was looking for a complete crawler excavator tailored to the specific work. Consequently, the dealer left little standard on the new Develon DX380LC-7 crawler excavator that was delivered at the end of January this year. For instance, there is the long-reach boom with a reach of 16 meters, 4 tons of extra counterweight, and extra-wide track plates. The bucket kinematics are equipped with heavier cylinders to break up the sand underwater. And there are two automatic lubrication systems, one for the boom and one on the bucket, which operates almost always underwater. Optimal visibility is ensured by the modified windshield without a central pillar and the sun-protective film all around, which also counteracts glare on the water. “I think the construction of the boom and the conversion of the cab are extremely well done, and I am very satisfied with it,” says Trommelen.
To create the recreational lake, Bruls is continuing to excavate the quarry. “We are going only deeper, and with the groundwater at 40 to 50 centimeters below ground level, we are digging up to 10 meters underwater.”
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By the end of April, the 38-ton DX380LC-7 had clocked over 200 hours. Trommelen: “Although you can only really say how you like an excavator after six months, I don’t expect to struggle with this machine. The excavator was entirely configured by us ourselves, and I can see that we made the right choices. Regarding brand, type, version, and the dealer; everything is to my liking. The machine feels good in the hand, responds well to what I want, and picks up work well.”
This article is sponsored by Develon , formatted and published by BouwMachinesNL .
View the photo album of this powerful Develon crawler excavator below. Click on the image to enlarge.
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