by Nick Drew | Fri 18 Aug 2017
Magnifique Mecalac
The launch event of Mecalac’s stylish and innovative MWR range earlier this year was a truly international affair which was attended by over 300 people flown in from around the globe,including customers, dealers and the worlds construction press. In this blog post I thought I would share a few more previously unseen photos I took from the event.
On arrival at the venue which was a sports arena complex close to the company’s factory in the French town of Annecy le Vieux, we were invited to take a look around a selection of the company’s products on what was a blisteringly hot summers day at this stunning location. The first surprise for us was seeing the familiar Terex UK products now emblazoned with the new Mecalac livery like this TLB990 backhoe loader sporting the large M signage on the boom.
Also of note were examples from the former Terex compaction range which have been so familiar on UK construction projects all through my lifetime having previously been machines in the Benford portfolio of products. This TV1200 looked resplendent in the glorious French sunshine. This size machine is probably one of the most widely used rollers in the UK construction sector, an already solid and well proven product that I’m sure will only go from strength to strength under the Mecalac banner.
Of course it’s the more quirky and unconventional products that we generally associate with Mecalac and there are plenty of them to choose from like this 714 MWE wheeled excavator, a fantastic compact radius machine which is ideal for working on tight congested sites and equally at home on road jobs with single lane closures.
We have featured the 6 MCR high speed crawler excavators previously in Earthmovers Magazine with a report on Cornish owner operator Graham Sandercock, who coincidently is now a dealer for the Mecalac products. Graham recently added a second machine to his fleet with the arrival of a larger 8 MCR and one of these models was on display in France too.
But the main event was the unveiling of the much anticipated MWR products which have taken the best features from the tracked MCR range and amalgamated them onto an all-new wheeled chassis.
Power for the new four model range comes from a four cylinder Deutz engine, which on the 7 MWR and 9 MWR is a TCD 2.9 L4 unit which produces 55kw (75hp) @2,300rpm, while the 11 MWR is fitted with a TCD 3.6 unit producing the same output power @2,200rpm. These engines meet Stage 3B emissions levels while the larger 15MWR is fitted with a Stage IV engine with a power output rating of 90kw (122hp) which requires AdBlue to meet emissions regulations. Photo opportunities were not great at this venue in a dark hall but here are some shots I managed to take.
Although during the launch event and to this day we have not been able to see a machine in action, let alone operate one, we were told that the machines are, like their tracked counterparts, fast in operation and nimble on their feet. The 7 MWR for instance has a travel speed of 30 km/h, whilst the 9 and 11 MWR’s can achieve a top speed of 40 km/h with the top end of the range the 15 MWR slotting in between at 35 km/h. The transmission is a closed hydrostatic system with Senso Drive automatic regulation driving Spicer axles. The standard fitment is two wheel steer but a more favoured four wheel steer with crab option is available. As you would expect a wide variety of tyres are available to suit individual customer’s requirements.
My friend Olli Paivio who writes for Finnish publication Koneporssi produced this video from the launch event.