Featuring a third hydraulic function, agricultural specification Volvo wheeled loaders support a wide assortment of agricultural attachments. Additionally, a Torque-Parallel linkage system provides high breakout, tilt-in and lifting forces, while the parallel movement also contributes to greater load stability.
Commenting on the new Volvo L70H wheeled loader, PHR Farms co-owner Rob Joules states: “It’s a great machine, and we’re really happy with it. This is our first Volvo wheeled loader, and it’s a step up from what we’ve run previously.”.
Equipped with a formidable silage clamp attachment, the L70H’s primary summer role is to load and compact grass into PHR Farms’ silage clamp, which ensures that there is plenty of feed available for their livestock all throughout winter.
Explaining the scale of this role, Rob states: “Throughout the summer, I’ve got 9 trailers rolling in 14 tonnes of grass for up to 12 hours each day. I then put this up into the clamp, compacting it as a I go, and making sure we fit in as much as we need.”. Continuing, Rob adds: “There’s a lot of pressure on the machine to do this job, and the L70H has to work flat out five to six days in a row, but it’s built for it, and just puts up with it.”.
Developing up to 853Nm of torque, the L70H’s powerful and efficient Stage V D6J Volvo engine ensures it is more than capable of loading, lifting and pushing anything PHR Farms require it to, while the wider agricultural tyres and full coverage mudguards enable it to access any area on either of PHR Farms’ two sites.
The L70H also makes for easy servicing, as it’s automatically reversible radiator fan allows for self-cleaning of the cooling units, and the added feature of slide-out cooler installation enables further speed of cleaning.
When asked what features he has found particularly impressive on the L70H, Rob explains: “It’s got better all-round visibility, axle cooling and a bigger cooling pack than previous machines we’ve had. It also has a purpose-built transmission, as well as a high-speed hydraulic pack and coolers. The cab, climate control and boom suspension are also brilliant.”.
Continuing, Rob adds: “It also has an optional diff lock, which I can click on and off as I need it, so it’s not binding the machine up all the time, and I’ve also found the tearout force to be brilliant. I can load the fork up with as much grass as I can get on it, and it’ll still climb that clamp, no matter how steep.”
“I also find it’s better balanced than our previous machine as well, so it doesn’t feel light when I have no load on the front; it’s a very well-proportioned machine.”, concludes Rob.
Providing considerable peace of mind, PHR Farms have opted for a Level 2 Customer Support Agreement, which ensures that their new L70H’s uptime is maximised through proactive servicing from SMT GB’s team of highly skilled mobile engineers. This Customer Support Agreement also provides PHR Farms with the financial security of working to a fixed cost per month.
Commenting on the sale, Area Sales Manager Dale Nicoll states: “I’m really pleased to have provided Rob and the PHR Farms team with the first agricultural specification Volvo L70H in GB, and to have had the opportunity to see it perform so well myself.”.
Continuing, Dale adds: “Every single sale certainly is valuable to us, but whether it’s for one machine or 10 machines is more of a detail than a determiner of the level of support we provide to our customers. For us, it’s all about creating a strong and lasting relationship with each of our customers, and working with them to ensure that the machines and solutions we provide fit their exact requirements.”.
Concluding, Dale adds: “It’s always satisfying to know that the products and services we provide our customers with today help them do a better job than they could yesterday, and it feels especially great to be supporting the agricultural industry.”.
Based near Ashford, Kent, PHR Farms is a family-run dairy farm with over 1,500 head of dairy cows split across two sites. Established in 2002, PHR Farms now own one of the largest herds of cows in the UK, and produce over 9.5 million litres of milk per year.
For further information, please contact:
Alex Cox
Marketing & Communications Officer
SMT GB
01223 251815
alex.cox@smtgb.co.uk
Hannah Kitchener
PR Support
SE10
07432 296296
hannah.kitchener@se10.com
