Capital Equipment News September2022

SKID STEERS

in 2022 so far and New Holland expects this to continue. “This product segment is not the largest segment but an important segment showing continued growth,” he says. ELB Equipment SA’s Kardolus notes that full year results show 252 skid steer loaders sold for the year ending 2021. Goscor Earthmoving Equipment’s Sadler says that, until April this year, sales across all classes were at around 150 units sold. “Based on this good start to the year, we at least expect to exceed 2021 sales which were around 230 units.” Applications “A skid-steer loader is truly a ‘jack of all trades’,” says Alexander. “With their various attachment options, these units can be found performing many tasks on different types of jobsite – from earthmoving on a construction site to landscaping a golf course and cleaning stalls on a farm.” The GEHL Skid steer loaders from ELB Equipment, says Kardolus, are extremely versatile machines with manoeuvrability and lifting capacity at their core. “Skid Steer loaders are usually the first machines to show up at a new build,” he says. “They are the perfect machines for earthmoving, land preparation and concrete flatwork and are applied in construction, mining, agriculture, plant hire, quarries, the public sector and industry. Goscor Earthmoving Equipment’s Sadler adds that skids steers can be found in most industries, from mining to agriculture, con struction, road works and many more. “This is due to a large extent to the attachments available, taking the skid steer from just a loader to a specialised machine or tool carrier.” Naidoo agrees on the versatility of the skid steer and the numerous attachments that it can carry. “Their flexibility and durability make them ideal for rugged sites with limited space,” he says. “They are also extremely manoeu vrable and lightweight. “Some of the functions which can be performed by a skid steer include earth moving, excavating, levelling, digging and trenching (with a backhoe or auger attach ment), as well as transporting and dumping materials. When fitted with a sweeper attachment, skid steers can also be used to clean debris.” Farmer says New Holland has sold skid steers for use in construction digging, cleaning and materials handling; agricultural fence post hole digging with augers and loading animal feed and mulching material, as well as in infrastructure trenching and

CASE Construction SA’s skid steers include two platforms, the small platform units SR130B and SR150B, and the large platform units from the SR175B to the SV300B models.

“Skid steers’ flexibility and durability make them ideal for rugged sites with limited space. They are also extremely manoeuvrable and lightweight.”

Mishen Naidoo, engineering/solutions manager at Manitou Group.

“Skid steers can be easily transported on a truck together with other equipment items, which cuts back on transport costs.”

Thinus Botha, senior sales and dealer consultant at Revaro.

“Skid steer loaders are super universal machines able to carry almost any type of attachment, and with hundreds of attachments to choose from, they can transform into power work horses.”

Wim Farmer, business development manager at New Holland Construction Equipment.

TALKING POINTS

is reasonably large in South Africa. “The skid steer market has remained relatively stable over the past few years. There are some applications that are partic

ularly suited to skid steers, so this market is expected to remain constant,” he says. In 2021, says Farmer, this product seg ment took a small dip but has bounced back

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS SEPTEMBER 2022 24