Al-Futtaim Auto Machinery Company (FAMCO), the sole UAE Volvo distributor, announced the launch of Volvo pipelayers in the Middle East, which it says represents a major step forward versus conventional pipelayers, the basic design of which originated in the 1920s.
Volvo’s 57-tonne PL4608 pipelayer, capable of lifting upto 80 tonnes which is on display at ADIPEC is one of two heavy lift models premiering in the Middle East, the other much larger model is the 68-tonne PL4611 which can handle loads of upto 110 tonnes.
The pipelayers are versatile as they can be converted into heavy lift excavators within eight hours.
A Volvo representative said that the design of the two vehicles incorporates a boom located inside the tracks, closer to the machines’ centre of gravity which help avoid dangerous and costly accidents associated with heavy loads.
In addition, the heavily reinforced boom, allied with the machine’s excavator-style counterweight, ensures excellent weight distribution and therefore stability when working on steep slopes, according to Volvo. Such stability allows for their best-in-class tipping capacities, the company claims.
The system also features highly visible light bars mounted at either side of the boom tips – which it said is an industry first. A sequence of lights passing from green through amber to red reflects the state of the load and enables other operators on the line, especially the linesman, to see the load capacity that can be safely handled.
Asad Raja, Famco’s Product & Application engineer from it’s Construction Equipment Division said that Volvo’s long-standing relationship in the Middle East’s oil and gas sector has helped it gain traction with these two new products.
“This is the first appearance in the Middle East but we have already tested the machine in the field with demos and the results have been quite extraordinary,” Raja said.
Commenting on the readiness of the launch of the two products, Raja said: “We got all the spare parts on the shelves, we have stocked everything so that when the customer purchases the machine tomorrow, they will not be looking around for the spare parts. The inventory is in place.”
Raja said that an unnamed oil and gas contractor had placed an order for two of Vovlo’s pipelayers on the second day of the exhibition, he declined to give a value of the value of sale or of the retail value of the two models as they have not been officially launched for sale in the region.
