Digger

Kubota U25-3 makes tracks with Steelwrist XO4

2010-08-29T10:04:15Z

M & L Seddon have recently been working on the construction of the Olympic cross country mountain bike course in Essex in preparation for the 2012 games. The track is being formed at the 550-acre Hadleigh Farm site near Benfleet, this land is currently owned by the Salvation Army. Details are sketchy but we are told that M & L Seddon have a personal interest in the sport of mountain biking, with the machine operator being a former champion apparently. The companies chosen machine for the excavation works is a Kubota U25-3 mini excavator which has been fitted with a Steelwrist XO4 tiltrotator system which is already proving its worth on site, in terms of speeding up the job. The big plus point for these systems is not having to move the base machine so often, so there is less need to keep moving and jacking the machine up with its blade to get the right angle of cut etc. This short montage of photos shows the machine in action on site.

Priestman Cub restored to former glory

2010-08-29T08:50:28Z

Geoff Burnett has recently completed a two year project to restore his 1965 Priestman Cub Mk 6 dragline excavator. Geoff who lives in Tickton near Beverley East Yorkshire has spent hundreds of hours at work on the restoration and a considerable amount of money too. Geoff said "I am really pleased to see it all finally complete, now I just need to put more hours in learning to drive it properly". ]]> The village of Tickton is about 8 miles north of Hull which of course was the home of Priestman's and to some extent still is the spiritual home of the company with many ex employees still living in the area. In the village the local water authorities have always had a depot where many Priestman and Ruston Bucyrus draglines were kept, in later years VC15's were also used. Geoff said, "I used to know all the drivers but sadly most of them are now in church yard, all but one who is now 83, he has been very interested in my Cub project during the past 2 years. He says he is going to teach me how to drive the machine properly, not like these weekend drivers!" Geoff who is a member of the Vintage Excavator Trust reminisced about the day in November 1990 when he went to the Priestman's sale. "It was a cold wet and rainy day, and it was such a shame to see all that gear going under the hammer, it was a very sad end for a once great company. I never thought that day that I would end up owning my own piece of Priestman history in the shape of a Mk 6 Cub, it's been hard work but well worth it!" Philip Peacock and Bill Bromwich our friends from the Navvy Driver recently visited Geoff so look out for a full in depth report in the next edition of their magazine.

Mega Machine Day, Quebec, Canada

2010-08-22T13:03:58Z

On Saturday 21st August 2010 keen machinery enthusiast Anthony Chaput attended the first and highly successful Mega Machine Day (Journee Mega Machines) which was held at the Dexsen sand pit in St-Paul-D'Abbostford in Quebec Canada. The event was organized by the owners of Dexsen Excavation and local business's to raise money for children who are affected by heart diseases in co-operation with the "En Coeur" foundation. ]]> Another similar event takes place every year in St-Elie-D'Orford near Sherbrooke, in mid September, once again with all proceeds going to "En Coeur" that event was reported here on the blog a year or two ago by Guillaume Poitras. Excel Excavation brought along a Caterpillar 988G loading shovel which Anthony and his friend both got to spend some time in. Anthony was impressed with the joystick controlled loader and described it as being very different to the Komatsu WA250PT-5 that they had tried out 10 minutes earlier. There were also 2 Hitachi 200LC's on site in dash 2 and 3 configuration, a Case 821C wheeled loader owned by Dexsen as was a Komatsu D37PX-22 dozer. Construction Choiniere's had their D39PX-22 on show and Excavation St-Cesaire were giving rides in a Deere 250D (Bell in the UK). A special treat for excavator fans was BB Excavations Deere 135D short radius machine in as new condition with just 15 hours on the meter! About 15 trucks were also shown for a contest where the kids had to vote and decide which truck would be the winner and a car crusher was also working in the pit for the entertainment of everyone. What a great idea and way of generating money for a very worthwhile charity, would be great if someone did something similar in the UK with donations going to worthy causes here. Here is a photo of Anthony standing in the bucket of the 988G, thanks for sharing your photos with us here on the Digger blog.

At Simpson's civil engineering innovation is the key

2010-08-22T11:20:36Z

East Yorkshire based Simpson's was established in 1945 by Mr. Keith Simpson, in those days the business was trading as K Simpson Builder and was involved in building contracts for domestic and agricultural clients working out of their premises in the village of Hutton Cranswick nr Driffield. In 1976, Keith's Son, Nick Simpson joined the company and the business was renamed K Simpson and Son and began to add civil engineering works as a major part of its business, which it became well known for. In 1994, Nick became Managing Director, having already worked in the company for 20 years, and re-formed the company into Simpson Civil Engineering Ltd and Simpson Plant Hire Ltd, reinforcing the company's positions as specialists in their fields. True to the company's forward thinking approach in 2009 a third company Simpson Training Ltd was created, aiming to train the next generation of Construction Workers to a higher standard covering CPCS plant tickets and also other fields such as NRSWA Street works, NVQ's and specialist tickets such as the EU Water and Gas Cards. ]]> The company's clients range from local residential and business requirements through to national housing developers, local and national construction companies, and water, gas and environmental companies. Long term Digger blog reader and contracts manager for Simpson's, Richard Harrison talked to us about the company's emphasis on modern plant techniques and innovations. "Over the years we have strived to use new and modern ideas to help save our clients and indeed ourselves time and money. We have invested in many new pieces of plant and equipment which include Dig- a- Crusher buckets, Laser Stone Levellers, Screening buckets and Long Reach Excavators." Richard continued, "Overtime our plant stock has changed considerably, from using wheeled excavators and 360 degree excavators from 18 ton and above, we currently run excavators from 5 ton to 18 ton which are all Case manufactured and are excellent and reliable machines. Some years ago we also ran a Hyundai Robex 210LC-3 which was fitted with a long reach boom." "We have also recently become involved in Vacuum Excavation, despite many being skeptical of the idea at first we have found it to be an extremely efficient and safe technique for excavating around delicate services etc. We also run a fleet of three wagons including a 6 wheeled grab wagon and a hot box attachment for our 7.5T wagon, keeping tarmac hot for up to 24hrs." The company first entered the Dig- a- Crusher market in 2007, when the first model of this award winning product was added to the fleet. Used to crush concrete, brick, rubble and stone this highly manoeuvrable concept is gaining popularity around the world. The bucket can crush up to 0.6m3 at a time and has 550mm x 700mm jaws that will crush almost anything. Richard comments, "Many of our clients reuse the rubble and crushed concrete as sub-base under concrete slabs or buildings which means cutting tipping costs and installing of stone." Another innovative piece of kit which is part of Simpson's arsenal is the Laser Stone Leveller which is described as a fast, efficient, and cost effective way of levelling stone for a wide range of applications including roadways, concrete areas, tarmac areas, car parks etc. Fitted to a backhoe loader the front bucket is guided by a rotating laser and hydraulic actuators adjust a front plate in order to grade the stone to level. On average it is possible to lay 500T per day, levelled and rolled. The company have been employed using the Laser Stone Leveller up and down the country on major jobs including the Millennium Dome and also all weather football pitches for Arsenal and many other Premier Football clubs. The company's Screening bucket is described by Richard as a "once you have seen it you'll love it" products and it has certainly proved a hit with the company's customer base, Using its twin rotating drums the bucket can be used to screen soil, stone and rubble down to a specific grade size. Once again due to its fitment to an excavator, the machine is highly mobile on site and once screening is completed the bucket can be quickly removed and the excavator is deployed back to traditional bucket work within minutes. The company's long reach excavator has been a permanent fixture in the Simpson portfolio for a few years now as stated earlier the first long reach was fitted to a Hyundai 210LC but this machine is now replaced by 21 ton Case machine which is in keeping with the firms preferred supplier for 360 degree excavators. This Case machine has a reach of 15m horizontally and 12m dig depth. Long reach excavators have been gaining popularity over the last few years and are especially useful when deployed on jobs such as bund work, canal and lake cleaning, sea wall reinforcement, and deep excavation works, saving time and money and indeed making those difficult to reach jobs so much easier. A big thank you to Richard Harrison of Simpson Civil Engineering for talking to us here on the Digger blog.

Volvo #7 for Powell Plant & Contractors

2010-08-19T17:35:25Z

Will Powell, proprietor of Reigate based Powell Plant & Contractors has taken delivery of a new ECR145CL reduced swing excavator for his hire and contracting business. Established in 1987, Powell Plant & Contractors has built a sound reputation in general groundworks and landscaping contracts, specializing in the construction and maintenance of golf courses and undertaking unique projects on behalf of the National Trust. Since purchasing his first Volvo, an EC140BLC back in May 2004, Will Powell has owned and operated a succession of Volvo excavators and compact excavators and has now opted for Volvo's reduced swing ECR145CL. "Typically for the majority of work we do we need the compactness of the reduced swing machine and whilst the ECR88 has been a good all round performer we needed to go one size larger," explained Mr Powell. "I'm really impressed with the balance and stability of the ECR145 - it certainly exceeds my expectations." ]]> Each track is powered by an automatic two speed shift travel motor providing a maximum drawbar pull of 119kN on gradients up to 35º. Equipped with a 4.6m boom and 3.0m dipper arm, the maximum reach is a generous 8.8 metres and lifting capacity across carriage at full reach is an impressive 1.69 tonnes. The machine's balance and stability is enhanced thanks to the fitting of 700mm track pads and dozer blade giving an operating weight of 16 tonnes. Will Powell also has machine #8 on order - another Volvo ECR28 zero swing compact excavator from Trackers Plant Sales Ltd - Volvo's utility equipment dealer covering Kent, Surrey and Sussex, which will run alongside his ECR145.

Classic American draglines at rest and play

2010-08-17T15:43:13Z

As a direct response to the many emails I have received asking for more material on old draglines, it gives me great pleasure to share these photos that have been sent into the Digger blog by our good friend Bob Rocker who lives in Florida. Bob has thousands of archive photographs taken over the last 40 years and he has selected this batch which shows some of the greats of American dragline production. We start with this Bucyrus-Erie 88-B, which Bob captured working in Coral Springs, Florida over 28 years ago. These machines were the largest of the construction sized range from Bucyrus-Erie and typically carried a 4 to 6 cubic yard bucket depending on application. Bob said, "When I first arrived to take photos of this machine the sun was out and it was a blazing 100 degrees, but then the thunderstorm arrived and it had dropped to around 76 degrees". Anyone who has experienced a Florida thunderstorm will understand what Bob means! Note the guy performing maintenance on the side board as the machine continues to work, I don't think current H&S regulations would let anyone get away with that anymore. ]]> Another famous name in the dragline manufacturing game was Northwest. Trading under the name of The Northwest Engineering Company of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the company made its first excavator in 1920. This model photographed by Bob around 1985 in North Central Broward County, is a Northwest 95 which is fitted with a 3.5 cubic yard bucket. Sadly no longer with us, Northwest were yet another company who were put out of business with the rise of the hydraulic excavator.This Northwest 190 model sporting a 4.5 cubic metre bucket was working in the Western Boynton Beach area of Florida some 30 years ago. The area is all built up now, but in those days it was all open space with a canal running through it, Bob was not going to risk swimming across the canal to get a closer look of this dragline though as it was inhabitited by alligators like this one that went cruising by some minutes later! These shots show the undisputed king of the Lima cable excavator range, the 2400, in action high dumping. Since there launch in 1948 these machines in various upgraded versions, proved so popular that many hundreds of them were sold around the world. This particular model has the markings of the Clark Equipment Company who had bought Lima in 1970. Finally some shots of an American 9260 dragline which is parked up for maintenance at a silica sand pit to the West of Boynton Beach Florida. This machine was fitted with a 5 cubic yard bucket. Many thanks to Bob for sending in these amazing old photos of some classic kit.

Spanish machinery graveyard delights

2010-08-14T15:31:24Z

Globetrotting machinery enthusiast, facebook and machinery forum friend Allistair Cooke, has recently returned from a fascinating trip to one of Europe's largest used spare parts facilities. T Casquero which has been in the machinery spares and sales business since 1977, is located at Benavente North West of Madrid in Spain. They were visiting primarily to look at used tractor cabs to replace some rusting ones back home in Ireland, obviously in Spain it doesn't rain so much so many items on used equipment remain in excellent condition apart from some paint fading issues from the constant barrage of sunlight. They hold massive stocks of old and newer machines at their purpose built premises which cover an area of some 230,000 square metres. The stock covers agricultural, demolition and earthmoving machinery as well as cars, trucks and motorbikes. As one can imagine there were many gems to be found basking in the scorching Spanish sunshine, some rarer than others, but all in all a great day out for anyone who has hydraulic oil running through their veins! ]]> Some old classic excavators here in this shot in the shape of an Akerman H25C and a couple of unidentified Poclains, as well as a more modern Liebherr 952. I wonder how many years have passed since many of the machines lying here have moved a track or wheel in anger? There were many examples of O&K excavators in stock, some of which were already in the cannibalisation stages but many like this RH30C model were for sale as a runner, in this shot Allistair tries the machine out for size. This RH30C doesn't appear to be so lucky as its cab has been removed and it maybe being used as a donor machine to help keep the many RH30's around the world keep going. Other machines which are for sale intact are this O&K RH40E, Komatsu PC1000SE and a Caterpillar 375ME In this shot Allistair stands by a pair of classic Caterpillar 200 series excavators, in this instance 245DME models. The 245D was introduced in 1992 as a direct replacement for the outgoing 245B II, it was equipped with a Cat 3406 engine which produced 385hp. At its time of introduction the machine was said to have more power than the 245B II but with a reduced engine speed of 1,800 revolutions per minute. Production of the 245D ended in 1994 during which time over 400 machines were built. And finally a superb photo of two Caterpillar 631B single engine motor scrapers caught in the frame of a heavily patched up boom off the O&K excavator. These two scrapers of 1978 vintage are in very good condition and ready to go to work. Now if I could just win the lottery I would buy one for a weekend toy! A big thank you to Allistair for sharing these photos with us here on the Digger blog.

Kaiser Spyder makes a crash landing

2010-08-12T15:11:33Z

Here's another climbing excavator video that in this instance didn't go entirely to plan. The operator of this Kaiser S2 "Spyder" excavator has a somewhat heavy landing on the final approach! It really is amazing to see these machines in action, here are some photos I took of an S3 model being put through its paces at Bauma 2010. Find out more about these amazing machines by visiting the Kaiser website.

Unusual sightings at Bauma 2010

2010-08-10T14:20:14Z

I have received quite a lot of emails from readers asking for more material from the Bauma trade fair which took place earlier this year. So I thought I would put together this collection of some of the more unusual or rare machines that are not seen in the UK market. This machine caught my eye as I had tried to make contact (unsuccessfully) with the manufacturers last year by email to find out more about it. The Raupentransporter CIT 5719 is a 27 ton tracked dumptruck and is powered by a Caterpillar C 6.6 Acert engine. The machine uses many components from Caterpillar and indeed the engine is similar to the ones fitted to Caterpillars 953D and 963D track loaders. ]]> The dumptruck is also equipped with a dozer blade at the rear, which enables the operator to discharge and level his load in one operation, which also eliminates the need for any additional machines at the tip area. Cukurova were another Turkish manufacturer who were present at Bauma. On the stand were two examples of their product range including this 22 ton class CMI723 hydraulic excavator, which is powered by a John Deere 6068TF275 Stage II engine which provides 112 kW at 2200 rpm. Also on stand was an example of the companies 885 backhoe loader model whose power plant was from the Perkins stable. Cukurova Makina launched as a company in 1968 under a licensing agreement with John Deere. Since 1986 the company has been producing its own earthmoving equipment using its own license and brand name Cukurova. The company has the capacity to produce around 2000 units per year which include, backhoe loaders, excavators, forklift trucks and wheeled loaders. Attracting a lot of interest was the Tiger Scrapedozer, described as an ideal machine for earthmoving on hauling distances between 50 to 500 metres. It is a strange looking machine indeed looking more like something out of the 60's TV show Thunderbirds, but it's a concept that has been used in Germany since 1939 when the first model was designed to be employed digging anti tank trenches. Another German company with a prestigious past making a comeback at Bauma was Eder, who showcased this large excavator which they are hoping will re-launch the company. If any other readers have something in mind that they would like to see from Bauma, please drop me a line and I might be able to help!

"Diggers dig in" at Desford final part

2010-08-09T11:15:17Z

During the last couple of hours of my visit to Caterpillars UK manufacturing facility in Leicester, I was invited to try out examples from the companies skid steer and multi terrain loader range. Once again it had been many years since I spent any time in a skid steer loader and it was one of my first drives in a multi terrain loader, or MTL, as Caterpillar like to call them. I started off with the Cat 277C and my first impression when climbing in was how much things have improved for the operator of these machines. The cabin is sealed and pressurised and fully fitted with air conditioning to provide a quiet, pleasant and dust free working environment. ]]> I was then invited to follow Fleur Foster around the specially constructed test track which has been designed to show off the manoeuvrability, traction and comfort of ride when operating these machines. First obstacle was a series of sleepers embedded into the ground but left slightly raised to highlight the machines suspension capabilities. The 277C features a rather sophisticated double suspended track system which is designed by ASV and looks very similar to those used on modern day tanks. This system allows plenty of movement of the track rollers which in turn helps to maintain the contact of the track with the ground and provides a much more comfortable ride for the operator. Next up was a steep forward facing climb followed by a sharp decent before heading towards a steep bank that shows off the machines side-on stability further. Next up for me was the slightly heavier 279C, which features an in-house Caterpillar designed heavy duty undercarriage, which uses an external sprocket and steel rollers and idlers. These models are designed to be sold into more heavy duty applications where the speed and ride comfort is not so important but durability of the undercarriage is imperative. Once out on the test track in the 279C, I was aware of a harder ride but it was only an issue whilst tackling the raised railway sleepers. As in the 277C, the cab was excellent and the machines seat mounted and fully adjustable joystick controls made for a very comfortable driving experience. Finally on the operating front I was invited to try out a 428E Mechanical backhoe loader. These machines have been made to suit certain markets, where the old style lever controls are preferred and to keep the cost of the machines down. For excavator drivers like myself who are more used to the ISO type controls, it seems rather strange initially, but after a few minutes getting used to the old style again it wasn't too bad, but having said that, I personally would not want to be doing a long shift of digging using the old style operating levers, as I am pretty sure my shoulders would be aching after a while sitting in that prone position. My last machine was the 432E which was an excellent drive after the mechanical 428 version. The 423E was fully fitted with the more familiar servo controls. I finished the days operating by performing some backfilling duties with the front bucket. You can read more on the E Series backhoe loaders in my earlier report here on the Digger blog. Also whilst at Desford I was very lucky to catch a glimpse of one of the American style centre pivot backhoe loaders that are now being built for the North American market in Leicester. Once again Digger would like to thank everyone at Caterpillar UK for making our trip so enjoyable, especially Fleur Foster and Simon Hill who gave up time on their weekend to entertain us.

Champion/Volvo make the grade

2010-08-04T13:15:45Z

Champion Road Machinery Company is without doubt one of the most famous names in grader manufacturing history. The company was based at Goderich, Ontario, Canada and specialized in the manufacture of only one product, graders. The company originally had American roots. The Pennock family entered the road building business in 1875, some years later, around 1889, the company was renamed as the American Road Machinery Company. After one or two further name changes over the years the company became the Dominion Road Machinery company in 1915, this name continued until 1977 when following the success of the Champion grader models, the company finally became the Champion Road Machinery Company Ltd. We have been very lucky to receive these photos from a former employee at the Goderich plant. This first print shows one of the first Champion graders ever built, simply called the "Winner" it was designed to be pulled behind a team of horses. ]]> This model the 100-T, was when introduced in 1975 the largest production grader ever built, it was powered by a 700hp Cummins engine and weighed in at 202,000 pounds, designed primarily for maintaining haul roads in surface mines it was equipped with a massive 24 foot blade. Volvo Construction Equipment purchased Champion in 1997 and in these photos we can see what looks like a Volvo G940 on the assembly line in Goderich, and a larger Volvo G960 model being employed on snow clearance duties. Sadly Volvo announced closure of the Goderich facility in September 2008, ceasing production after 99 years in the same location in June 2009.

Sunward mini excavator completes Finnish marathon

2010-08-02T11:16:32Z

You may recall we reported on Jukka Mutanen's month long attempt to track a Chinese Sunward SWE17B mini excavator for 1000 kilometres from Hanko in the south of Finland to Kuusamo in the north east of Finland. Well at 6pm on the 29th June 2010 Jukka crossed the finnish line in front of a massive crowd and assembled media. Such was the coverage of this event not only in Finland but also internationally Jukka has become something of a celebrity, this fact was further endorsed by many members of the crowd trying to get his autograph! Jukka was greeted on the completion of his record breaking attempt by the president of Sunward, Mr He Qinghua, and many Finnish government officials including member of parliament Mr Tuomo Hanninen and the president of the Kuusamo district committee Mr Matti Heikkila. ]]> Good friend of the Digger blog, Finnish plant journalist Olli Paivio told us that Jukka is planning more crazy stunts but is keeping them under wraps for now.....watch this space! Thanks to Olli Paivio for supplying photos.

Swedes have some fun with their machines

2010-08-01T09:45:20Z

Swedish plant entrepreneur Conny Kolsjo and his friend Jon Anders Olsson recently got together and decided to have a bit of fun time with their machines. In this series of "David and Goliath" photos we see Conny's classic Akerman H16D excavator which weighs in at around 43 metric tons, and Jon's 950kg New Holland-Kobelco SK009 mini excavator getting up close and personal in a series of stunts. The H16D's smallest 1.75m rock bucket makes an ideal rain canopy for the SK009! ]]> Conny and Jon then compare bucket sizes, proving once again that size does matter, well according to most men anyway! Later on using an earth shelf cut to the exact height of the Akerman's counterweight Jon tracked his mini excavator onto Conny's machine for a "piggy back" ride. Digger blog would like to thank Conny and Jon who are both very active members of the Swedish machinery forum Maskinisten for sharing their "boys and their toys" photos with us here.

Case excavator tackles silt in Millbay

2010-07-29T13:37:36Z

Jenkins Marine is currently working on the historic restoration of the Millbay Inner Basin in Plymouth, which is part of a £350 million regeneration project. Built by Brunel in the 1850's for the Great Western Railway Company this historic shipping dock has been virtually abandoned in recent times, despite it being a listed structure and famous local landmark. Two thirds of the material will be disposed of at sea using Jenkins Marine's 300m3 self-propelled split hopper barges Nab and Needles, while about one third of the material, which has trace contamination, is being brought to shore and then unloaded by excavator ready for dewatering and remediation by main contractors Morrison construction.

Operator peels banana with Case CX50B

2010-07-28T11:36:16Z

Here is another one of those videos which shows the skill and showmanship of operators from around the world. In this instance the operator of this Case CX50B midi excavator peels a banana skin which is being held by one of the members of Time Team America. I wonder who will be trying this one on site tomorrow!