Capital Equipment News January 2022

COVER STORY

An aerial view of the official launch of the new excavator in South Africa.

Key competitive edge With the arrival of the new 22 t excavator, Forte is strongly confident of capturing a larger share of the market. Already commanding 28% and 19% market share in the local backhoe loader and skid steer markets respectively, CASE Construction SA believes it now has the right tool to boost its current 2% share of the 20 t excavator market. “Constituting about 20% of the annual excavator sales of about 3 850 units, the 20 t size class is an important segment of the market. Like any other manufacturer, it is critical for us, and a market of that size cannot be left untouched. The CX 220C LC Heavy Duty allows us to bite into that segment. At the moment we are sitting at about 2% market share, which is not ideal for a market of that size and for a brand that already commands a market-leading position in the backhoe loader and skid steer markets.” CASE Construction SA is initially aiming to grow its market share to 5% in the short term. Given that the 20 t excavator segment is an extremely competitive market with a lot of players, Forte says price plays a big role. For this reason, the CX 220C LC comes at a favourable price point compared with its predecessor,

compared with its predecessor. Up to 4% of the fuel efficiency is attributable to the hydraulic system control and 6% to the FPT engine. The 6-cylinder FPT engine is said to deliver outstanding power and torque, which reduces the transient time, making the hydraulic system immediately reactive to any load. The operator can monitor the machine’s fuel consumption with the new ECO gauge function, which displays energy saving levels in real-time. The CASE Intelligent Hydraulics System (CHIS), the result of continuous research and development, delivers greater machine control with sound energy and fuel savings in all cycle time phases. Two variable displacement axial piston pumps with a regulating system are combined with the CASE main valve, designed in Japan for fine, precise and efficient operations. CHIS is governed by a machine control unit which collects input from pressure sensors located on pumps, main valve and pilot lines. The machine control unit maintains constant ‘dialogue’ with the engine control unit to optimise machine output at any moment, in any condition. Central to the efficiency of the machine is also the CASE advanced

allowing CASE to be competitive in this market segment. A key factor in the excavator’s competitive price point is the fact that it is now manufactured in-house at CASE’s Madhya Pradesh plant in Pithampur, India. Previously, CASE Construction outsourced the production of its excavators to Sumitomo under licence. Leveraging an existing factory structure, in-house manufacturing has therefore ushered in significant cost savings, allowing CASE to be competitive in the market. “The Pithampur plant is the same factory that already manufactures our backhoe loaders. Given that we already have an existing structure and, more importantly, access to a cost-effective labour market, we have leveraged these economies of scale to offer a competitively priced product that, however, matches the same quality of the European-made counterparts,” says Forte. Efficiency and productivity At a time when fleet owners are looking for every competitive edge they can get, the new CASE CX 220C LC has a special design focus on efficiency. Powered by the fuel efficient FPT engine, the machine offers up to 10% better fuel economy

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JANUARY 2022