Tunisia Quarry Loyal to Case Wheel Loaders for Over 25 Years

The quarry ‘Les Carrières de L’Ariana’, a family business in the Raoued-Ariana region of Tunisia, purchased the first Case 821 wheel loader in 1989. Founder Mohamed Djelassi was so delighted with its performance and the support he received from his Case dealer Sotradies, that the company remains loyal to the brand and dealer to this day – even after his son, Omar Djelassi took over the management of the company in 2011.

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“Fast cycles, low fuel consumption, high reliability: that’s why we like Case wheel loaders”

‘Les Carrières de L’Ariana’, which covers an area of 14 ha, produces aggregates for the building industry and for concrete mixes. In addition to the original 821, the quarry relies on four Case wheel loaders – a 921 and a 1288 purchased in 1995 and two 921C units – to load the trucks day, day out.

“When choosing a wheel loader we look first of all for a powerful and highly reliable machine,” explains Omar Djelassi, who was the company’s technical director until he took over as General Manager. “Case wheel loaders deliver in spades on both counts. They keep up consistently high levels of performance, with extremely fast cycles in loading the trucks and efficiency in transport applications. And they do all this with exceptionally low fuel consumption – great for our bottom line! As for their reliability, we know we can absolutely count on them to perform tirelessly, day after day in the tough conditions of the quarry. Just think that our first Case wheel loader, the 821 purchased by my father, is still going strong with over 67,000 hours on the job. It is a special machine to me; I take care of its maintenance and repairs personally, and it’s a delight.”

“The excellent relationship with our dealer is one of the key reasons for choosing Case”

Mr Djelassi is very satisfied with the support ‘Les Carrières de L’Ariana’ receives from Case dealer Sotradies: “The good relationship with our dealer is very important to us: this and the equipment’s performance are the reasons we choose Case for our equipment. Sotradies give us a very high level of after-sales support. Parts availability, which is critical to keeping our machines working, is very good. And, when necessary, Case steps in to support our dealer so that downtime is kept to an absolute minimum.”

Sotradies, part of the UTIC group and Case dealer since 1996, serves construction businesses from their headquarters in Tunis and three sales points in Sousse, Sfax and Kébil. They support customers with their well equipped workshop and provide on-site technical service with their mobile workshop. “We know that, as Mr Djelassi pointed out, the way we support them plays a big role in their choice of equipment,” explains Slim Tlili, Sales Manager. “At Sotradies we strive to provide all-round service that hinges on three key elements: advice, assistance and proximity. That’s what keeps customers like ‘Les Carrières de L’Ariana’ coming back to us year after year when they need new equipment.”

“That’s true,” adds Mr Djelassi. “In fact, we have been so happy with our wheel loaders that we also have four Case crawler excavators in our fleet – a Case Poclain 1033 and three B Series CX excavators, all of which have been performing flawlessly and reliably throughout the years.”