The new breaker was handed over by Epiroc business partner A.B.T. Abbruchtechnik GmbH, which, through years of collaboration with Epiroc, possesses in-depth expertise in handling Epiroc attachments, especially in heavy duty applications. The rental cost of the equipment is calculated based on the actual operating hours recorded by the Hatcon system. “This combination provides optimal planning security for both companies and enables extremely reliable scheduling of maintenance, leading to very high availability of the attachment and a reduction in downtime costs,” said Marvin Venker, managing director of A.B.T. Abbruchtechnik..

Excavator attachments versus drilling and blasting

For some time now, Mendiger Basalt has been using excavator attachments instead of the usual drilling and blasting method, bringing several advantages to the operation. The blast free extraction results in significantly lower noise and environmental impact compared to traditional methods, greatly enhances workplace safety, and allows for quarrying despite nearby residential areas. Extensive closures and associated work interruptions are eliminated, enabling simultaneous work in multiple areas of the quarry. Additionally, the use of hydraulic tools supports the extraction of high quality material directly and precisely, even in heterogeneous rock. “Due to the interplay of all these factors, the cost of using hydraulic breakers is not significantly higher than conventional blasting operations,” explained Rainer Krings, managing director of Mendiger Basalt Schmitz Naturstein GmbH & Co. KG.

The heavyweight Epiroc hydraulic breakers, the ‘HB’ series, are specifically designed and developed for tough operations such as primary breaking, and secondary breaking in quarries or the demolition of massive reinforced concrete structures. “The perfect tool to effortlessly extract and crush basalt, an extremely hard volcanic rock,” concluded Rainer Krings. The patented ‘Intelligent Protection System’ (IPS) facilitates positioning and provides protection against blank firing by automatically adjusting the on/off behaviour during operation. This is said to deliver maximised efficiency with minimal risk even under challenging conditions. The overall performance is optimised by the integrated ‘AutoControl’ system which automatically adjusts impact energy and frequency during operation to be in sync with each other.