The entire range of Bell articulated dump trucks sold into UK markets are being rolled out with new ribless bins, a process that will be completed by the end of the year.

Bell Equipment UK has gradually been rolling-out its new ribless bin models since the end of last year.
The manufacturer's smaller ADTs, including the B25D, B30D and B35D, were the first to undergo the upgrade, followed by the ever-popular 40-tonne B40D in the spring.

All new versions of the flagship B50D, now being produced in Bell's European factory in Eisenach, Germany, will also be sold with ribless bins before the end of 2008.

The ribless models are lighter than those of competing manufacturers but designed to provide increased strength. Bell engineers have also designed the new bins to provide greater machine stability and more concentrated heat where it is required with the bin heating function.

Neville Paynter, managing director of Bell Equipment UK, said: “Unlike other manufacturers, Bell has not rushed into the production of ribless bins, because we wanted to make sure that there were real benefits for our customers.

“We have been meticulously developing and testing ribless bins for many years to get to this point, and we are now confident that Bell has achieved the desired results.

“It is important to point out that this is not an ‘off-the-shelf' ribless bin – it is a Bell ribless bin. And while other manufacturers have gone down this route for cost reasons, we have taken our time to ensure that the new bins offer real benefits to the customer from a durability, bin heating and unladen weight perspective.

“With fuel becoming an ever increasing burden on sites, Bell wanted to make sure that the new design did not affect this important competitive advantage that Bell customers already enjoy.”

The advanced geometry behind the development of Bell's ribless bins has ensured that the Bell ribless bins are on average 15 per cent lighter than their main competitors without any compromise to strength and payload capacity.

To reinforce this, all Bell ribless bins are covered by the same structural warranties as the rest of the machine.