56
MINI EXCAVATORS
IRN JUNE 2014
B25V – hadbeen reducedby 20%.
“We are targeting the European rental market
with the SV26,” he said. “We are at the beginning
of a new fleet replacement cycle in Europe, and this
year we are forecasting growth particularly in the
UK and French rental markets. We aim to sell up to
400SV26s this year both todirect buyers and rental
companies.”
Gearing up for growth
For its part, manufacturer JCB said it was gearing
up for “massive growth” in the compact excavator
market, a sector it saidwas expected to increase to
over 200000units by 2017.
JCB said its latest launches – the 6.7 t class 67C-
1, 8.5 t class 86C-1 conventional
tailswing models, and 8.5 t 85Z-1
zero-tailswing model – were part
of its push to grab a bigger
shareof themarket.
And reduced operating costs were at the
heart of the design process, according to
the company. All threemodels sport Stage
IIIB/Tier 4 Final-compliant engines, and
JCB claims they consume 10% less fuel
than previous models. Engine rpm also
automatically drops below the idle speed
when theoperator’s arm console is lifted,
which JCB said helped with saving fuel
and also reducingnoise levels.
Meanwhile, David Wood, Caterpillar
product application specialist for
mini-excavators, said 2013 had been a
relatively good year for sales.
“We continued to see growth in Northern Europe
and theUK. Inaddition, inPoland themini-excavator
is starting to replace manual labour. The 8 t mini
excavator market has seen particularly good
sales, with the Cat 308E2’s versatility and compact
dimensions perfectly suited to on-highway utility
projects."
Caterpillar has a manufacturing alliance with
Wacker Neuson, which itself has introduced a new
dual power version of its 803 mini excavator. This
900 kg machine can, in addition to the standard
diesel engine, be connected to the external HPU8
electro-hydraulic driveunit.
However, the dual power option will not be
available on the mini excavators supplied to
Caterpillar through themanufacturing alliance.
“The use of alternative power in mini-excavators
will continue to grow for indoor applications,” Mr
Productionbeginsonnewminimodel
At its plant in Tuscany, Italy, Ihimer has started production of the first model in its new V4 series of mini-
excavators.
Ihimer, which is a joint venture between Japanese manufacturer IHI Construction Machinery and Italy’s
IMERGroup, presented the first prototypes from the new range last year. The first productionmodel to roll
out of the factory is the2.7 t class 27V4.
Ihimer said the production start marked the beginning of a phase of industrial development of vital
importance to the Italian constructionequipment sector as awhole.
Themanufacturer said 200 27V4 units
would be produced before December
this year, with orders already placed
for more than 70% of this total. It said
the machines would be distributed
throughout Europe.
Available in both canopy and cab
versions, the 27V4 boasts a 13.6 kW IHI
S773-C engine that the company said
kept fuel consumption and emissions
to a minimum, and has a front swing
radius of 2,030 mm and tail swing
radiusof 775mm.
Themanufacturer said 200 27V4
units would be produced before
December this year.
Volvo CE has updated itsmini excavator
line-upwith the introduction of the 5 t class
ECR50D short tailswingmodel.
The latest compact
excavator fromHyundai
comes in the form of the
6 t class R60CR-9A,
replacing the previous
R60CR-9.
The 4 tonne class
Hitachi ZX38U-5was
purchased by Italian
contractor BTF and put
to use on a utilities
project in Perugia. The
contractor said the
machinewas high-tech
but reliable.
