57
EQUIPMENT
Caterpillar
This year will see
Caterpillar launch
14 newmachines
designed specifically
for Africa and the
Middle East.
engine in a previous year’smodel.
This is best illustratedby the 950
GCwheeled loader, whichmarks
the start of a boldnew approach
in thewayCaterpillar designs
equipment for emerging countries.
It sits alongside the 950H– also a
machine for lesser regulatedmarkets
– in the popular 3m
3
buck class.
Butwhereas the 950H is built for
serious productionwork, the 950
GC is designed for lighter duties
such as re-handling aggregates and
other free-flowingmaterials, and
general on-site supportwork.
Caterpillar’smediumwheeled
loader product specialist,Vincent
Danloy said, “It is still a premium
machine, but for different kinds of
applications.”
HamidLavassani, salesmanager
forCaterpillar’s construction
and infrastructure products in
Europe, Africa and theMiddleEast
(EAME) added, “We have designed
thismachine specifically for the
market.This is not a 950Hwith
some of the technology removed,
this is amachine that has been
designed for a specific purpose.”
He added, “We used tomake just
onemodel and sell it to everyone.
But depending onwhatwas
needed, itmight not have been
right.”
The idea behind the 950GC is to
offer amachinewhichuses simple
andproven technology, whichwill
make it cheaper than the 950H,
andwhich is easy tooperate and
maintain.To this end, the controls
are a simple pilot system, compared
to the 950H’s electro-hydraulic
systems.The 950GCdoes however
feature load-sensinghydraulics.
“This brings the powerwhen it’s
neededby the application and it
is automatic, so it doesn’t need an
intervention from the operator,”
saidMr Lavassani.
june 2014
international
construction
Purpose-built workhorses
I
n the rushof new equipment
launched this year tomeet
newStage IV andTier 4Final
emissions standards inEurope,
Japan andNorthAmerica, it is
perhaps easy to forget that the
majority of theworlddoesn’t use
thesemachines. Although they
may represent the cutting edge of
technology, they are too expensive
for othermarkets and inappropriate
because theyneed tobe fuelledwith
ultra low sulphur diesel, which is
notwidely available outside tightly
regulated countries.
But asCaterpillar’s newmachines
for Africa and theMiddleEast
demonstrate, there ismuchmore
todesigning equipment for other
parts of theworld than a lower tier
The 950 GCwheeled loadermarks a departure for Caterpillar
in theway it designsmachines for Africa and theMiddle East.
One of the biggest changes on the
320D2 is themove to amechanical
engine, whichwill make itmore
tolerant to poor quality fuel.
