Digger

The tiltrotator concept was first invented in Sweden in 1984 by one single company, for the first 5 to 6 years sales were poor and eventually the company went bankrupt, this lead to the formation of two smaller firms that continued to develop and market the product.

In 1990 sales of the product started to take off and by 1997 market penetration had gone from 0% to 90% in the 3ton - 25 ton excavator range.

In Norway today, total market penetration is around 60%, but 100% of all new machines being delivered now come equipped with a tilt-rotator system. Many other European countrys are showing great interest to including Holland and France and even here in the UK , where old habits die hard there are already an estimated 800 users of tiltrotator systems.

Steelwrist are one of the youngest companys on the tiltrotator scene having been formed in 2005 but have certainly taken the product to another level with a whole host of forward thinking and innovative improvements built into the product.

Take for instance the fact that the Steewrist tiltrotator tilts up to 45° in both directions, which is more than any other tiltrotator on the market. The sharper tilt angles can boost
a machines flexibility and improves its productivity. This benefit is obtained by reducing the need to move the excavator.

Also the Steelwrist tiltrotator has the lowest build height which is critical in maintaining valuable excavating breakout power. One inch extra installation height can reduce your excavating power by more than 10%!

Add to that, specially dedicated Steelwrist control levers and an integrated in cab touch screen control system that allows you to fine tune your tiltrotator in terms of rotation and tilt speeds and a whole host of other options. It's clear to see that the Steelwrist is a very special product indeed!

A fine endorsment of the product has come from Volvo Construction Equipment who have recently appointed Steelwrist AB as it's preferred supplier of tiltrotators in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

On the demo plot on the day were two Volvo excavators, an EC35C (3565 kg) mini excavator which was equipped with the Steelwrist X04.
And an EC160C excavator which is in the (16,7-19,1 ton) class which was equipped with the Steelwrist X18.

The EC160C is owned and operated by Calvin Fuller, a long term fan of the tiltrotator concept who has had them fitted to his machines for over 7 years.

Calvin's machine can only be described as an "all singing all dancing" piece of kit and it certainly impressed me when I was kindly allowed to take to the controls, as you can see it features the very useful triple articulation boom which are not often seen in the UK on tracked machines and the optional extra dozer blade, add to that the tilt-rotator and you have one amazing machine which must help keep Calvin in demand on any jobsite!

I got a chance to try out the tiltrotator for myself !

Here is a video of Calvin in action on the demo plot.

All Steelwrist tiltrotators feature a fully hydraulic quick coupler system as standard as shown here on the X04 model fitted to the EC35C. These quick coupler systems are fully compliant with all current UK legislation.

There so many benefits to having a tiltrotator mounted on your excavator you can change the way you work and achieve a significantly higher productivity.

Digging around poles, close to house foundations, close to pipes etc can be done much faster and without moving the excavator. The soil disturbance will be reduced which is often greatly appreciated by customers.

Owners often find that they get more work and new jobs after having a tiltrotator fitted, and many tasks on site can be completed much more quickly as well as the benefits of greater fuel efficency.

Watch out for more exciting Steelwrist news coming to the pages of the Digger blog over the coming months.

Thanks must go to Stefan Stockhaus,Jan Berneryd,Markus Nilsson, and UK MD Pat Bulcock for putting on a great demonstration.