6 minute read
Simply advanced
CAT AP500 PAVER
Victoria-based contractor NorthVic Asphalt recently added a Caterpillar AP500 paver to its machinery fleet.
FOR CONRAD FARRELL, MANAGER OF VICTORIAN COMPANY, NORTHVIC ASPHALT, THE CAT AP500 PAVER HAS SPELLED RELIABILITY, SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY. HE RECALLS WHY HE CHOSE THE PAVER IN THE FIRST PLACE AND HOW IT HAS BENEFITTED HIS TEAM.
Early in his career, Conrad Farrell received some advice from an old friend: “let the job take you where it takes you.”
He took that advice to heart and the journey has since taken him through interesting twists and turns, from brick road paving to asphalt paving to owning a contracting business with 10 employees and projects all over the northern Victoria and southwest New South Wales.
The story of how he turned from a brick paver to an asphalt paver is an interesting one.
“I had a couple of clients in the Port of Echuca, where I had been engaged on some of the heritage-listed brick structures. One time, they wanted me to do an asphalt paving for a café sitting area. The contractor did not show up, so I ended up doing it myself. Things sort of started from there,” he reminisces.
Today, his business, NorthVic Asphalt, handles projects from major contractors and local governments in the Echuca and surrounding regions, with projects that have grown in scope and complexity, particularly over the past five to six years.
To keep up with the level of reliability required for these projects, NorthVic Asphalt recently added a Caterpillar AP500 paver to its machinery fleet. For Farrell, the decision was one that followed months of deliberation.
“I was considering the upgrade to the Cat paver for about 12 months. Then, we had a breakdown with one of our machines and that’s when I decided we needed more reliability to get us through our major projects,” he says.
Working with their local William Adams Caterpillar dealership in Swan Hill, NorthVic Asphalt purchased the AP500 paver a couple of months ago. Operations have been going smoothly since, according to Farrell.
“We have clocked over 100 hours of operation and we’ve already done our 50hour service through the Swan Hill branch. Their service has been exceptional and I’m very happy with how they’ve looked after us,” says Farrell.
EXCEPTIONALLY QUIET Among its other features, Farrell and his team are particularly impressed with how quiet the paver operates.
“The biggest thing our operators have noticed is the quietness of the machine. It’s exceptionally quiet and when we work with asphalt mixes that have too much fume,
the fume extractor on the machine works really well for us, making sure the workers standing next to the machine don’t breathe the fumes in.”
As Chris Powell, Paving Products Industry Territory Manager for Caterpillar Australia explains, both the quietness and the efficient fume extraction are the result of a unique design methodology in the paver model.
“This feature comes down to the unique design of the Caterpillar machine,” he tells Roads & Infrastructure. “The way AP500 and the entire series of Cat’s eight-foot and 10-foot pavers are designed, the ventilation system draws fumes and hot air from the sides and redirects them away from the operator by blowing them to the front of the machine. In most other machines, the hot air is directed from one side of the machine to the other side, so you always have a hot side and a cold side, or a noisy side and a quiet side. It’s not like that in the AP500.”
Another reason for the quite operation, Powell explains, is the exclusive 70 kilowatt (kW) integrated generator incorporated in the design.
“The integrated generator and the unique generator technology provide very high kilowatt power, which also ensures a quick start up when you need to heat up the screed. The screed heats up in as little as 15 minutes, compared to 40 minutes in some older models. It also provides a much quieter operation for the amount of power it generates.”
OPERATIONAL SIMPLICITY Having worked with different pavers over the years, operational simplicity is something that Farrell and his team of operators appreciate.
“Functions in the AP500 combine everything that other machines have, but they are reasonably simple and effective,” says Farrell.
According to Powell, several design aspects contribute to the simple and intuitive design.
“The AP500’s design focuses greatly on operator interface and controls. The controls on both the screed and the tractor are very intuitive and can perform a range of complex operations with a single touch of a button,” he says.
“For example, switching the automatic feeder sensors on can happen with a single button, rather than having to go around the machine and pressing four different buttons. Also, there’s an auto close option for the front hopper. Even when you want to clean out the machine at the end of the day, the press of a button will activate clean out mode which rotates the augers and conveyors at a slow speed to release any built-up material and allow operators to wash down the machine easily.”
Moreover, an integrated Cat grade and slope system means both paver and screed operations can be controlled harmoniously from a single screen.
“All Cat pavers can utilise a variety of grade control systems, but an integrated Cat grade and slope system eliminates any potential challenge compared to when you work with multiple manufacturers,” say Powell.
Caterpillar’s pavers, including the AP500, AP600 and AP1000, are also equipped with the option for an adjustable front wheel assist or an all-wheel drive. The all-wheel drive feature, Farrell says, has provided great traction to the team when pushing the truck, in addition to better manoeuvrability.
“The adjustable front wheel assist or allwheel drive provide much more torque to the front bogie wheels, which means a lot more power, better turning circle, and a lot more manoeuvrability,” Powell explains.
NorthVic Asphalt handles projects from major contractors and local governments in the Echuca and surrounding regions. LOCAL SUPPORT Farrell says a big factor for him in choosing the AP500 paver was also the knowledge that technical support would always be at hand.
“The backup service we get from the Swan Hill branch and the fact that Caterpillar has dealership branches all over the country is a great advantage for us. Even though we are not that far outside of Melbourne, sometimes it can get difficult to have specialists look at the machine if local support is not available,” Farrell says.
Having an extensive dealership network outside of the metropolitan areas is something that Powell says sets Caterpillar apart from its competitors.
“While most other companies retain a single main branch in the city, at Caterpillar we have the advantage of having a wide dealership network. For example, in north Victoria, we have three branches in Swan Hill, Wodonga and Bendigo. So, a client like NorthVic Asphalt knows that if anything goes wrong, a fitter can reach them within half an hour to resolve the issue.”
In addition, Powell says the Caterpillar telematic system, known as Product LinkTM, helps the branches keep an eye on maintenance.
“This is a very handy tool that provides accurate information about the machine’s location, utilisation and condition. Using this, the machine owner, as well as the dealership, can easily plan and track maintenance, in addition to other benefits,” he explains.
As for Farrell, he is still following his friend’s advice on going where the road takes him.
“We started as a small company with only four to five crew members and from there, we have grown to where we are today. So, we’ll just let it tick away and see where we end up in the years to come,” he says.
