by Nick Drew | Tue 24 Apr 2018
Ollie Kitchin’s Scot Plant round up
I couldn’t make Scot Plant this year, mainly due to having just undergone another knee procedure, but also because I was aware that at least two other members of the Earthmovers team were going to be in attendance, so I knew coverage was in good hands.
I was however, delighted to receive a batch of photos from well known owner operator Ollie Kitchin who made the trip up on Saturday which he sent for us to enjoy on the Digger Man Blog.
What better place to start on Ollie’s round up than on the Steelwrist UK stand where the latest plant and machinery internet sensation and all round top bloke James Covell was the chosen operator this year to display the merits of the Steelwrist tiltrotator attached to the new JCB 220X hydraulic excavator. Ollie said he had a good chat with James who very kindly gave him a walkaround of the new X Series machine which Ollie said was and I quote, “a very impressive machine”.
Over on the Molson Group stand Ollie spotted a fine-looking example of Kobelco’s new SK210H Hybrid machine, one of which was recently featured in Earthmovers Magazine in an excellent first drive report by Geoff Ashcroft. This particular machine appears to have been sold to Buntons Plant Hire.
Scotland is without doubt something of a hotbed for tiltrotator sales and all the major players in the UK were present. Rototilt UK were represented by their Scottish dealership HHH (Highland Hammer Hire) who had a working demo plot with a Doosan DX140LC being put through its paces.
Turkish brand Hidromek were once again represented by the UK dealer for the North, Buntons Plant Sales, who displayed an example of the first Hidromek HMK 640 wheeled loader in the UK. Also on stand was an HMK220LC hydraulic excavator owned by Kattrak.
Talking of Kattrak, the company was also displaying one of its new Bergmann 3012 articulated dumptrucks which once again are part of Bunton Plant Sales portfolio of products. These German built machines are finding favour with a good number of customers across the UK.
Scotplant would not be Scotplant without John Craig and his team at JCC Engcon and this year they were joined by members of the Engcon UK team too. John Craig is a legend in the world of tiltrotator installs and his specialist modifications of machines, so there is always something of interest to see on the stand.
Taking a break way from all the modern kit on display and Ollie came across a couple of old classic items which we know from previous experience always appeal to the Digger Man Blog readership. The machines appear to be a Caterpillar 941 and a Hitachi UH series (exact model unknown to me) Its always a delight to see these old girls being preserved for future generations to see.
CASE fans were not to be disappointed as Scottish dealer Hodge Plant Sales displayed a variety of machines from the range including CX13D, CX210D and CX370D Sumitomo designed hydraulic excavators.
Mouse Valley Plant were displaying examples from the Augertorque range of hydraulically driven augers, Arden attachments and their new Takeuchi TB290 which looks to be another of John Craig’s LGP conversions.
Menzi Muck dealer Exc@v8 had something very special on display, a converted Menzi Muck which features a telescopic boom with a man basket which can elevate up to a height of 42 metres and offered some lucky visitors a real birds eye view of the showground!
The UK arm of Finnish compact loader manufacturer Avant Techno displayed a stunning example of the company’s 760 tracked articulated loader. I hope to get hands on with one of these for Earthmovers later this year in the company’s homeland if all goes to plan.
And finally finishing off as we started but this time with a look at the new JCB 220X X Series excavator with an example of one that has already been sold to AMD on the Scot JCB stand.
The Digger Man Blog would like to thank Ollie Kitchin for sharing these photos with us.