Capital Equipment News July 2019

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The backhoe loader segment is a lucrative, but fiercely contested market in South Africa. It is approximately a 1 700 unit market per year, but with close to 20 competitors vying for a share In 2018, Babcock launched SDLG’s B877F model, an upgrade of the previous B877. It comes with a new engine, increased cab space, enhanced cooling capacity, as well as a state-of-the-art loader linkage, among several other improvements

Armed with their new generation offerings, which come with an array of upgrades, SDLG, LiuGong and XCMG are particularly in the hunt for an increased foothold in the backhoe loader market

XCMG’s WZ30-25 also employs hydraulic pilot operation technology to achieve easy operation, accurate locating, comprehensive excavation motions and better operational performance

The SDLG B877F, launched by Babcock last year, comes with an improved loader linkage system that

provides better breakout force.

Following the launch of its New Generation 777A at the end of 2018, LiuGong Machinery Southern Africa says it expects the new offering to be among the top 5 selling models in South Africa by the end of 2020

machine and customers are starting to look at competitively-priced, non-premium offerings. Following Volvo Construction Equipment’s discontinuation of its Volvo-branded backhoe loader, Babcock used bauma ConExpo Africa in September 2015 to unveil SDLG’s first backhoe loader model, the B877. Last year, Babcock followed that up with the launch of the B877F model, an upgrade of the previous B877. The new B877F benefits from several feature upgrades, but comes at a very competitive price – in fact, it is said to be the only machine in its price category that comes with an air conditioner as standard. LiuGong backhoe loaders have been in the market since 2015, and Kivanc Eren, sales director at LiuGong Machinery South Africa, says the company initially ran a test model,

At the end of 2018, LiuGong Machinery SA introduced its New Generation 777A, which is said to usher in a new era for the manufacturer in the South African backhoe loader market.

which was targeted at a small segment of the market. At the end of 2018, LiuGong introduced its New Generation 777A, which is said to usher in a new era for the manufacturer in the South African backhoe loader market. XCMG is another strong contender in the value backhoe loader segment. The company introduced its range together with its whole product offering when it first came into the market during the early 2000’s. Crystal Liang – key accounts manager at XCMG South Africa, says from a sales perspective, the backhoe loader segment remains small for XCMG, but armed with

its new generation WZ30-25 model, XCMG South Africa expects to gain considerable market share, which will be further enhanced by the customer relationships it has built over the years. SDLG B877F The popularity of the SDLG backhoe loader has increased sharply following the launch of the new B877F. According to Vaughan, a key pillar of the growth in popularity is the marked improvement in the quality of the product. However, behind every good product is great service. The growth of the brand also largely hinges on the backup

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