by Nick Drew | Tue 03 Sep 2013
Classy Swedes put their own stamp on Turkish Hidromek excavators
Following on from my blog report about new Swedish Hidromek importers Abandon AB, I came across a couple of photos this week featuring Hidromek machines in Sweden, which I thought I would share with you here on the Digger Man Blog.
Interest in the Turkish Hidromek range of excavators and backhoe loaders appears to be gaining momentum in Sweden since the appointment of main dealers Abandon AB, who are centrally located in the city of Sundsvall. On the Facebook page of top Swedish plant & machinery forum Maskinisten.net, there has been a lot of discussion about the distinctive black and white liveried machines. Our Swedish friends lead the way in terms of hydraulic excavator technology, and already they are adapting the Hidromek machines to suit the Swedish market. Of course one of the first things they do is to fit a tiltrotator, an essential item of kit for working on sites in the Scandinavian hotbed for tiltrotators. In this shot from Richard Sahlin, we see a Hidromek HMK 140W wheeled excavator sporting an Engcon EC219, which is nicely colour co-ordinated in Hidromek white.
In another shot from forum member Emil Andersson, we see a Hidromek HMK 220LC tracked excavator also sporting a tiltrotator, this time from the Steelwrist stable, in the form of an X26 model. Also of note in both photos, are examples of how the Swedes like to “pimp” their excavators with additional working lights, which are mounted on a specialist roof frame. These additional lights are not just for show, but essential for the long periods of darkness that they experience during the harsh winter months in the country.
As my Swedish is extremely limited, I asked my friend Robert Carlsson to interpret what was being said in the discussion, Robert said, “The contributors are mostly curious, and a few are doubtful as it is an unknown make so far in our country, however some are saying that the machines look OK and that the cabin is really nice, another also said that with the machine using Isuzu engines and Kawasaki hydraulic pumps it should be pretty good”.
I suspect sales will be gaining momentum in Sweden pretty rapidly, and I look forward to following this in future blogs. I hope Abandon AB choose to exhibit at next year’s Maskinexpo event, as I will be keen to catch up with them if I attend.
Check out the latest promotional video from Hidromek which tells you more about the companies history and its vision.
In the meantime, I am heading to Turkey later this week on holiday, and will be spending a day out with members of the Hidromek team, touring job sites in and around our resort location so lookout for a report on that soon.