Capital Equipment News November 2017

Product offerings HPE Africa boasts a fair share (in excess of 13%) of the mini excavator market. “We have supplied mini excavators to customers in agriculture, construction and plant hire industries between January and August 2017,” says Van der Watt. HPE Africa supplies mini Hyundai excavators ranging from 3,5-8 t, namely the R35Z-9, R60-9S and R80-7 -7 800. With a 3,65 t operating weight, the R35Z-9’s boom swing function (80 x 400 mm) is designed for efficient work in congested residential and urban areas. The boom can be offset left or right within an operating range. Its short tail swing radius allows the operator to work in confined areas like close to buildings or roadways, and in urban areas. “The compact radius design provides easy and efficient operation in any space- limited working environments,” says Van der Watt. To further compete in a growing market, Bobcat recently added two new compact excavators in the 6-8 t weight range. The 6-tonne E62 and 8-tonne E85 reduced tail swing (RTS) models replace the previous E60 and E80 models, respectively. The latest generation excavators share many features and advances to maximise performance, versatility, operator comfort, durability, ease of maintenance and serviceability. Both excavators feature upgraded hydraulic systems resulting in higher pressures and flows, generating smoother and greater digging and lifting performances. The E62 compact excavator offers a 10% increase in the arm digging force to 28,7 kN and an 8% increase in the bucket digging force to 43,1 kN in the short arm version. In the E85 model, the bucket digging force has been significantly increased to 61,8 kN, a 13% increase over the previous model. The E62 and E85 models are standard equipped with primary and secondary auxiliary hydraulic lines offering both dual directional and proportional flow for increased versatility. A thumb control is integrated in the joysticks for better metering of the boom swing and the proportional auxiliary hydraulics. Latest on SPE’s arrival lounge is the new 8 t Kubota KX080- 3S. A key feature of the KX080-3S is its compact size that allows it to work in very tight spaces, but offering high power perfor- mance to execute a range of jobs that normally call for larger conventional machines. The machine comes with Kubota’s pio- neering 360 mm tight tail swing, and thanks to the contoured, tight tail design, the KX080-3S is said to be more stable and can work in areas where space is at a premium than conventional tail swing excavators. “With its compact size, the machine can still achieve a high level of industrial performance on space-constrained construction sites, making it a unique proposition for local contractors seeking substantial power on space-restrained urban sites,” says Bloom. Its compact size also makes it easier to transport between sites. With its 2 200 mm width, the Kubota KX080-3S is said to be lot narrower than competitive machines in the same size class. Versatility is another key benefit of this machine. While a range of attachments that can be fitted on this machine is very wide, it also comes with a high-capacity dozer blade, which removes the need for separate machines for a range of applications such as site preparation, digging and finish work. The machine also comes with a third-line hydraulic return function. “When working with one-way hydraulic attachments, such as a breaker or brush cutter, the standard third-line hydraulic system allows oil to flow directly back to the tank without running through the control valves. This translates into reduced oil contamination, less back pressure and increased oil flow efficiency,” concludes Bloom. b

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