Turkish machinery operator and enthusiast Mehmet Boyaci recently made contact with me on the new Friends of the Digger blog group on Facebook
Mehmet lives and works in Izmir which is Turkey's third most populous city and the country's largest port after Istanbul.
Mehmet posted some great photos of Hyundai excavators at work in the city and explained to us just why Hyundai's are so popular in Turkey.
In this shot we see a 2008 model Hyundai 290-LC-7A long reach excavator at work on a drainage contract.
Mehmet said that many company owners prefer Hyundai because they are very economically priced, incredibly durable and very rarely suffer from any mechanical failures.
Turkish operators also like the high specification of the cabs which Mehmet decribes as being equal to that of modern cars!
Rubber Ducks are also very popular in Turkey with the most popular Hyundai models being the 200W-7 and as seen here the 170W-7 which is being employed on hammer work in the city.
Mini excavators continue to be popular in Turkey as they are in countries all over the world, and to think that in the late 70's when they first started appearing people suggested that they would never catch on?
Of course around Izmir the make that is currently most popular is the latest zero tailswing offerings from Hyundai including this Robex 35Z-7 busy at work in one of the many side streets in Izmir.
These tight and congested areas around the city make the 35Z-7 zero tailswing mini excavators the ideal choice so that the operators can work safely without having to worry about doing any damage with the counterweights that you would find on conventional mini excavators.
I suspect the operator of this 200W-7 is enjoying working under this underpass in the shade and out of the heat of the Turkish sun!
The Hyundai main dealer in Turkey is HMF based in Istanbul.
Thanks to Mehmet for his photos and background information about Hyundai in Turkey.
