Diggers Hillhead 2016 highlights (Part Two)

by Nick Drew | Wed 06 Jul 2016

Diggers Hillhead 2016 highlights (Part Two)

Back now to the Digger Man Blog’s look around the showground at Hillhead starting off on the Finning Cat stand.

Dominating the Finning Cat stand on static display was the 352F XE hydraulic excavator which is fitted with Caterpillars Grade Control system. The 52 tonne class machine is powered by a Cat C13 ACERT engine which offers a power output rating of 417hp. This machine has been sold to CHC Ltd who are celebrating 50 years in business this year.

The Cat 772G rigid chassis dumptruck was also featured on the Finning Cat stand, powered by a 535hp Cat C18 ACERT engine this 50 tonne class truck is capable of a top speed of 49.5mph. This example is one of a fleet that have been supplied to Aggregate Industries via Finning Managed Solutions (FMS).

The ever popular Cat D6T LGP dozer was also displayed on stand. This versatile dozer is powered by Cat’s C9.3 ACERT engine and has a maximum power output rating of 251hp. The D6 in all its various guises is without doubt the most well-known and proven dozer in the UK market and this example has been bought by Midlands based Dunton Environmental.

Over on the Bell stand the team had done a grand job cleaning up the demonstrator model of the 55 tonne capacity B60E, which following its launch earlier this year at Bauma, has been on a UK tour of demos at a number of industry leading quarries and mines. The machine takes its power from a Mercedes-Benz/MTU engine rated at 577hp. Sharp eyed readers may notice that this machine is currently featured in the latest edition of Earthmovers Magazine.

Also on display was a Bell B50E emblazoned with the name of well-known earthmoving outfit Kelston Sparkes who recently invested in four of the B50D models for its fleet.

On the Liebherr GB stand there were a wide variety of the German company’s machines to be seen. Often said to be over engineered in terms of strength and quality these machines do have a real touch of class to them. The 914 Compact has gained a lot of fans since it was introduced with a number of high profile owner operators with a high social media presence singing the machines praises.

One such high profile owner operator is Eddie Warrener who brought along his latest highly specified machine which is based on a Liebherr R 924 materials handler. Much of the modification work has been carried out by highly respected engineer and tilt-rotator installation guru John Craig owner of JCC Engcon. The machine was first seen in public at Scot Plant earlier this year and now at the end of the show season we expect to see this machine going out to work soon.

There was plenty to see over at the Komatsu stand, which is where I caught up with Digger Man Blog reader and long term Komatsu UK employee Grant Young. Grant was keen to show me examples of the excavator range which incorporate the Intelligent Machine Control like the PC210LCi-10 model seen here.

Komatsu have been world leaders in intelligent machine control systems since launching them to market in 2014. They were also one of the first to introduce Hybrid excavator technology and at Hillhead the company displayed its largest Hybrid excavator model ever the HB365LC which I am hoping to get hands on with during a forthcoming visit to Komatsu UK.

Of course the Komatsu stand at Hillhead would not be complete without a large wheeled loader model. This time around the company showcased its new WA600-6 model which is powered by Komatsu’s own 6 cylinder SAA6D170E-5 engine offering a power rating of 531hp and is capable of carrying bucket capacities ranging from 6.4 to 7.8m³.

Look out for the final instalment of Hillhead highlights on Friday.

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