India is blessed with some of the world?s largest coal reserves. The North-Eastern peninsular belt in particular is abuzz with mining activity round-the-clock, round-the-year. ?In fact, the history of commercial coal mining in India dates back to the year 1774 when the British East Indian Company dug out the Raniganj Coalfield,? says Manoj Agarwalla, Director, Dhansar Engineering Co Pvt Ltd (DECO), a premier mining and engineering company based out of Dhanbad. He continues, ?Of course, mining now isn?t what it used to be, thanks to technology.?

Digging to deliver DECO is using sophisticated mining technology across all its projects. Leading the way is a large fleet of smart Volvo construction equipment. They include heavy duty EC700 BLC excavators, G930 motor graders and a long line of EC460 BLC and EC480D excavators - some 55 equipment in all. For over a decade now, they have been about their job ensuring what the company has become noted for - executing mining contracts with faultless efficiency within specified time schedules. ?Volvo EC460 and EC480 have proved to be the best in their class delivering the highest productivity at the lowest cost. The fact that they are backed by ready spare parts, customised service support and periodic preventive maintenance makes them a class apart,? says Agarwalla.

According to him, one can push Volvo construction equipment to the very limits in mining operations and get away with it. ?We really make the excavators and graders sweat it out in the toughest terrain. Most of the time, they don?t complain,? he says with a smile. And on the odd occasion when there is a machine problem, help is ready at hand from VolvoCE channel partner of the area, Infra Equip Pvt Ltd.

More reasons
While Volvo?s cutting-edge technology gets undivided admiration, it is the ?comfort factor? of Volvo equipment that wins the hearts of people at DECO. Says Agarwalla, ?Consider this - we have Volvo machines that have crossed 39,000 working hours and they are up and running 90 per cent of the time - that?s as good as new!? Machines covered under Gold contract have been handed over at 24,000 hours with average availability of 95 per cent, perhaps the lowest cost in the world. Clearly, Agarwalla is deeply appreciative of the role Volvo CE and its channel partner have played over the years in DECO?s success. These are exciting times at DECO. Several new mining contracts have been inked. Diversification plans are underway into wind energy, coke oven and fabrication work and realty development. Agarwalla is upbeat about the future.