CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NOV 2018

helping pricing either,” says Nicoll. Ackron notes that certain size categories have experienced a decrease in sales over the past year, while the 5,1-7,5 t class, which represents 60% of the market, has remained flat. The top three industries where HPE Africa sees most of its demand are construction, plant hire and forestry/agriculture. According to McNeill, from analysing market data over the past five years, the compact excavator market is experiencing steady growth. “Although the growth isn’t huge we see a good market for compact excavators, which are ideally suited to light construction, demolition, grave digging, agriculture and forestry applications. We have seen an increased number of these machines going into compact construction applications where space is a challenge,” says McNeill. When it comes to demand drivers, McNeill reasons that perhaps one of the biggest drivers is the favourable cost and higher productivity of a compact excavator compared with manual labour. “Customers are also looking for a more productive machine to replace the conventional TLB. Compact excavators present a good opportunity for plant hire as a versatile, light weight machine that is easily transportable and light on fuel. With zero tail swing, the compact excavator can operate in areas with space constraints unlike larger machines,” says McNeill. The same view is shared by Nicoll, who says labour laws are onerous on all contractors and mechanisation is an attractive option. “That’s a widely held point of view. Our products are sought after for their build quality and value for money which drives specific interest in our brand,” says Nicoll. “We have made very good inroads into agriculture and this is now a significant component of our market. Our machines are ultra-compact and well suited to the confines of orchards and vineyards.” Ackron is of the view that compact excavators appeal to the industry for many reasons, and among the key drivers is that they work well in confined spaces; there is increased need for mechanisation; call for smaller capital expenditure; offer excellent power-to-weight ratios; and the machines are fuel efficient and easy to transport from one site to another. “Mini excavators are ultimate tool carriers. They can work with special attachments such as trenchers, augers and forks, which adds to the versatility of the machines. Typical applications where they excel include digging holes, trenching, demolishing small structures, repairing sewer lines and landscaping,” says Ackron. In terms of uptake, McNeill says there is no specific industry that has taken the lead; Bell Equipment has evenly sold machines across construction, agriculture and forestry where they are said to be performing well in varied applications. “We have sold several of the 5,5 t machines. However, we are seeing interest in all three of our models with the 13,5 t machine having the potential to become the most popular model due to its suitability to the forestry and agriculture industries.” According to Ackron, the 5,1-7,5 t is the best-selling class in HPE Africa’s stable; the lightweight excavators have a small footprint and cause less damage to work surfaces, like grass and asphalt, making them ideal to work in gardens and parking areas. Nicoll says Force 8

has a remarkably linear demand between its models with no size outselling others. “It’s owing, most likely, to a spread of sectors that we sell equally into, with each having a preferred weight category,” says Nicoll. Market outlook Ackron says in the short term, he sees a decrease in sales mainly due to lower volumes across all capital equipment sold. This is as a result of the current economic and political influences. “In the long term we foresee an increase in mechanisation, which will result in sustainable growth of mini excavator demand,” says Ackron. Nicoll says excavators are Force 8’s core product and the company has always been optimistic about the future of the compact excavator market. “We have committed many years to developing our brand and supporting it appropriately. Sales volumes will certainly increase as the versatility of the product becomes increasingly apparent to existing and as-yet underdeveloped sectors of the market. We need some currency stability though as the premium brands are quite expensive at present. We also worry that there are possibly too many competitors for what is inarguably not a very big market by Asian or European standards,” reasons Nicoll. Based on current market trends, Bell anticipates a steady increase in the market to follow in the footsteps of First World countries where the TLB market is shrinking and the compact excavator market is growing. “There will always be a place for the TLB and the market will never fall away completely, but a dedicated excavator is still a more efficient machine in terms of productivity and performance, which is why we are seeing this shift towards the compact excavator,” concludes McNeil. b

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