Known for its high-quality products offered at competitive prices, UK-based MB Wilkes manufactures and distributes a wide range of topsoil, sand, gravel, and decorative stone. As a progressive business built on expert knowledge, the company also operates a facility for recycling waste aggregates such as brick rubble, concrete, and soil. To this effect, MB Wilkes owns an extensive fleet of machinery to service the needs of the site and has equipment such as articulated haulers, tippers, grab trucks, loading shovels, dozers, and excavators.

SOLID PARTNERSHIP

As a longstanding Terex Trucks’ customer, MB Wilkes bought its first articulated dump truck in 1999 after the TA30 impressed over competitor brands. The company then looked to Terex Trucks again in 2008 when it made the decision to add a machine to its fleet to increase productivity and opted for another TA30, which was supplied by TDL Equipment.

A longstanding customer, the family-owned business uses the dump trucks to remove the overburden

“When we bought the first articulated truck we were looking at other brands, but Terex Trucks’ products were the best – the fuel efficiency was good, it was reliable and simple to drive,” said Paul Wikes, director at MB Wilkes.

“It had cross diff-locks as well which a lot of others didn’t have at the time,” added David Wilkes, director at MB Wilkes.

CONCRETE GROUNDWORK

Well suited to the application, Terex Trucks’ 28-tonne capacity haulers have proved to be a perfect match for the Henbury Quarry. “Customer satisfaction is at the top of our list and we’re proud of the material we produce at Henbury Quarry,” explained David. Renowned for its premium products, MB Wilkes’ highest quality building sand is Corfe 1 and it’s favoured by customers due to its versatility as it’s suitable for all applications. The extraction process for Corfe 1 requires machinery at Henbury Quarry to descend close to 80 feet below the surface.

The geology of the quarry is made up of various layers of material with grey gravel at the very top. The gravel fades into ginger hogging, which then transitions to sand, sandstone and then a soft ginger sand. Finally, there’s a vast amount of overburden and it is beneath this that bright yellow sand, known as Corfe 1, is found deep in the earth.

David explained: “We are using dozers, excavators, and Terex Trucks’ articulated haulers to remove the overburden and dig deeper to be able to get access to Corfe 1 sand, which we then sell on to the brick manufacturers.”

SMOOTH PERFORMANCE

Expertly designed to take on a variety of terrains and move the harshest materials, sand has shown itself to be the trucks’ biggest challenge at the Henbury Quarry, particularly when wet. Nonetheless, the machines built in Motherwell, Scotland, have stood the test of time working nine hours a day, in all weather conditions.

David explained: “In the past, we always had one dump truck on standby, but now we are working to capacity and so we use both most of the time. Following the installation of a new wash plant last year, the dump trucks are now moving material to and from the quarry as part of the production process.”

The trucks, which are also used to dump material in the customer loading areas, have also found favour with MB Wilkes’ operators.

Designed with the driver in mind, the articulated haulers feature front suspension and a spacious ergonomic cabin offering maximum operator comfort.

David added: “We’ve found that the tyres wear very well and our operators frequently comment on how smooth the drive is in the dump truck – one even said it was better than his road car!”

Terex Trucks is a manufacturer of off-highway rigid and articulated trucks that are used in mining, quarrying and construction applications around the world. Headquartered in Motherwell, Scotland, UK, Terex Trucks (a division of Volvo Construction Equipment) has four models of rigid haulers with proven designs and payloads ranging from 41 to 91 tonnes, and three models of articulated haulers with payloads ranging from 25 to 38 tonnes, in its portfolio.

Meanwhile, the family-run business  of MB Wilkes, with more than half a century in the industry, is now a leading supplier of aggregates and building materials throughout Dorset, and the surrounding counties from its Corfe Mullen head office.