Wilfried Lescrieux: Site hopping with the Arocs and a concrete pump
Construction site transport
The boom of the concrete pump on Wilfried Lescrieux’s Arocs 2640 is a whopping 38.5 metres long. Operating this rig is hard work – a tough job that Wilfried finds enormous fun.
The boom of the concrete pump describes an enormous arc in the blue sky of the French municipality of Labarthe-sur-Lèze. Its end hose, steered by Wilfried Lescrieux, points towards the suspended ceiling of a new building. “The concrete will start flowing soon”, he says, moving the boom a little further along using the radio remote control. Then he activates the Arocs 2640's PTO and out pours the concrete.
The pump delivers up to 160 cubic metres per hour, which means that Wilfried can process two to three jobs per day. The second concrete mixer has already docked onto the Arocs in reverse and is connected via a hopper. And on we go. The pump keeps going until the last square metre has been poured. For Wilfried, this is where the hardest and most strenuous part of the job begins: cleaning and maintenance.
All riser pipes, transport pipes and connections must be rinsed through. The water required is provided by a 700-litre tank. But first, the concrete is cleaned from the pipes using rubber balls. And then Wilfried has to work quickly because, “The harder the concrete sets, the harder the job gets”.
"I love this profession. On any given day, I might be making a concrete ceiling first, followed by a pool or foundation."
– Wilfried Lescrieux
Pump trucks and concrete.
“It's all thanks to my brother that I ended up in this sector”, says Wilfried. He trained as a lumberjack and immediately started working towards getting his truck driving licence at 18. His brother got him his first driving job as a concrete pump truck driver.
Four years later, Wilfried moved to the south of France with his wife and daughter where he found work at a new company doing the same job. He is now the Deputy Managing Director and is in charge of the vehicle fleet and accounting.
What is the most important part of this job? Fun!
Working with pumps is Wilfried’s passion. "I love this profession. On any given day, I might be making a concrete ceiling first, followed by a pool or foundation." The advantages of his Arocs? Being able to manoeuvre in confined spaces. His customers, mostly smaller concrete construction companies, like the fact that Wilfried can use his concrete pump truck even on tight construction sites.
He travels up to 150 kilometres for his jobs and drumming up new customers and invoicing are also regularly on the agenda. On Saturdays, Wilfried often sacrifices his free time to view construction sites. "I want to know what to expect for my next job and how to approach my work. But that's just the price of freedom and the best way to keep my job being so much fun!"
Photos: Hans Müller
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