by Nick Drew | Tue 24 Jul 2018
Wacker Neuson and Hidromek kit gather for New Forest dig-in
A well-hidden jewel in the New Forest, the High Corner Inn near Ringwood, was the venue for C&O Construction’s Come and Drive dig day event last Friday and Saturday and the Digger Man Blog and Earthmovers were invited along to sample a taste of the action.
Having followed my satellite navigation system to the post code supplied, I did wonder what was going on as the tarmac road disappeared and a long winding gravel track lay ahead of me, but following my nose by then, I eventually descended on this secluded inn which had a decent sized working area out the back of the premises, making it an ideal location for a dealer event. C&O Construction Ltd had gathered an impressive line up of machines for visitors to try including a range of Wacker Neuson machines and courtesy of TJC Plant Sales a couple of Hidromek machines were also available to try out. The undisputed star of the event was Wacker Neuson’s new Dual View dump truck, which in this instance was the 10 tonne DV 100 model, fresh from its official launch at the recent Hillhead quarry show.
I will be covering this machine in more detail in an upcoming edition of Earthmovers magazine, so I won’t give too much away here, except to say I thought it was a brilliant idea and is certainly going to be one of those game changers that everyone talks about. In the meantime, check out my video walkaround of this new machine.
At the top of the digging plot was an example of Wacker Neuson’s stylish 9-tonne offering the ET90. This machine tips the scales at 8348kgs and has a maximum digging depth of 4679mm. Power comes from the well proven 4-cylinder Deutz TCD 2.9 turbocharged diesel engine which offers a power output rating of 55kw (73.7hp) @1850rpm.
On static display and at the other end of the scale in the Wacker Neuson mini excavator range was the 803 Dual Power machine. The eco friendly 803 is a one tonne class machine that as the name suggests can take its power from its on board 3-cylinder Yanmar 3TNV70 diesel engine which offers out 9.6kw (13hp) or can be powered electrically in sensitive working areas offering zero emissions and minimal noise pollution.
TJC Plant Sales brought along a 22-tonne class Hidromek HMK220LC hydraulic excavator from the forward thinking Turkish manufacturer. This machine along with others in the Hidromek range, is brimming with well proven blue-chip Japanese components including the 4-cylinder Isuzu U-4HKIX diesel engine and Kawasaki pumps and an in house designed and ergonomic cab which would delight even the fussiest of operators. C&O Construction look likely to become a regional dealer for the Turkish range going forward as a complimentary product range added to their current portfolio.
Check out this video from the day as operators from local business Alaska Ecological Contracting tried out the HMK220LC and expressed an interest in adding a number of them to join their fleet.
Wacker Neuson has a long history of producing compaction equipment, who can forget the old German Wacker jumping jacks from the 60’s and 70’s, they certainly took a bit of taming back in the day! Of course, things have moved on a lot since those days and Wacker Neuson produce some awesome compaction kit today like this RD27 120 double drum vibratory roller. Powered by a Kubota 3-cylinder engine this machine features a unique crab steering system.
C&O Construction are also dealers for the Italian Merlo telehandler range for both construction and agricultural applications and displayed a couple of models including the Panoramic P38.12 Plus.
UK Designed and manufactured in Wiltshire by Autoguide Equipment, the Post Master range of hydraulic vibratory post drivers are available in three sizes, to suit 1.5 tonne – 3 tonne machines maximum post size 6”, 2.5 tonne – 5 tonne for a maximum post size of 8” and 5 tonne – 8 tonne for a maximum post size of 10”. The system was demonstrated on a Wacker Neuson ET18 VDS model.
Check out the video featuring the Post Master business owner operating the machine.
For those visiting the event with an interest in purchasing any of the machines on show, newly established Hampshire based asset finance business Construction Plant Finance Ltd (CPF) were also on hand to offer advice for those seeking to fund a purchase.
We would like to thank the management of C&O Construction and TJC Plant Sales for kindly inviting us along on the Friday.