BradPave
makes the switch
Investing in the future: BradPave chooses the Liebherr PR 716 G8 in the UK
Rising hire costs and a strong order book led long-standing Liebherr customer BradPave to a decisive change of direction: owning rather than hiring. With the PR 716 Generation 8, Paul Bradshaw adds a highly efficient crawler dozer to his fleet – a machine that delivers on both precision and cost-effectiveness.
Up to now, Paul Bradshaw had hired in crawler dozers on a project-by-project basis. But limited hire availability combined with a strong order book made acquiring his own machine the logical next step. As the owner of two fully equipped Liebherr excavators – an R 914 Compact and an R 934 G8 – the choice of brand was straightforward. Finished in BradPave's signature grey and white, the new PR 716 G8 now joins the team.
Delivered in LGP (Low Ground Pressure) configuration with 711 mm track pads, the dozer is ideally suited to soft ground. A 3.5 m six-way blade and a five-shank rear ripper deliver the productivity, while the Leica MC1 3D machine control system and Liebherr's Free Grade function for active blade stabilisation equip it for high-precision grading work – integrating seamlessly with the systems already fitted to BradPave's excavators.
The G8-series design delivers outstanding all-round visibility from the heated, air-suspended seat. The cab is mounted to the chassis on hydro-elastic bushings to minimise vibration and noise from the engine and drivetrain.
According to Paul, the interior upgrades clearly set the machine apart from the competition. The comfortable seat offers a clear view through the fully glazed doors of every corner of the blade as well as the rear ripper. The slimline dashboard houses Liebherr's touchscreen display, giving Paul Bradshaw access to machine data and allowing him to switch between operating modes. The control feel has equally won him over.
The way you can adjust everything to your seating and operating position is ideal. The controls are effortless and allow even the finest grading work."
The Job
About the PR 716 G8
The dozer's first job took it to a site near Leeds, where Paul Bradshaw and his team were constructing an access road along with a ring road, roundabout and a series of attenuation ponds for a new logistics development.
With Liam Schofield excavating the attenuation ponds in the R 934 G8 and Paul's son Blake ferrying material across the site, the PR 716 – running Liebherr's Free Grade system – brought each 30-tonne ADT load to a rough level remarkably quickly. For shaping the embankment of the pond, Bradshaw switched over to the Leica MC1 system: while it processed the terrain model's elevation data, the hydrostatic travel drive delivered the stepless control over speed and power needed to shape a smooth, consistent curve.
What has impressed Paul Bradshaw most is the fuel consumption. The dozer is powered by a Liebherr four-cylinder Stage V engine with 4.5 litres of displacement, housed compactly beneath the slim, steeply sloping bonnet and easily accessible via the large side panels. Early figures, covering a mix of heavy pushing and grading work, show consumption of just 9.5 litres per hour.
Although the crawler dozer will not be in continuous use, ownership adds genuine value to the business: "We plan our work weeks in advance. Now that we have our own dozer, we're far more flexible and can use it for tasks where in the past we'd have gone to the trouble of repurposing an excavator."
