by Nick Drew | Sun 26 Apr 2015
Diggers Intermat highlights (Part One)
Intermat 2015 drew to a close last night, bringing to an end 6 days of plant and machinery activity in the French capital. In this the first of a series of blog posts, I will take a look back at some of my highlights from the show.
I think it’s fair to say that the show was a bit of a slow burner during the first two days, but it definitely got much busier as the week progressed. Despite some big name absentees this time around, there was still plenty to see and do at the triennial event and my feet and legs are still in an unhappy state following my 3 days of trawling around the Nord-Villepinte exhibition centre. My first port of call was to the Hyundai stand, where the South Korean company was displaying a wide range of its products including a world premiere for the first six models of its new Tier 4 Final emissions compliant HX series hydraulic excavators. The machines on show were the HX220L, HX260L, HX300, HX330, HX380 and the HX520L.
Also making their world debut’s in Paris were two new Tier 4 Final compliant Hyundai wheeled loading shovels with the introduction of the HL955 & HL960 models. Many of these new machines will be making their UK debuts at the upcoming Plantworx show in June.
Over on the Doosan stand Bobcat was displaying the new T450 compact tracked loader. This new machine has been designed to fill the gap in the range slotting in between the T110 and T590 models. Manufactured at the Bobcat plant in Dobris in the Czech Republic, the T450 is powered by the Bobcat D24 45.5 kW (61 HP) turbocharged diesel engine, providing 25% more power than the T140 model, ensuring the T450 has the best performance and engine power to weight ratio in its class. The D24 engine in the T450 meets the current Stage IIIB emission requirements through the use of cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) after-treatment technologies, with no diesel particulate filter (DPF).
Doosan also officially launched its latest Dash-5 range of hydraulic excavators with a broad selection of sizes on display. One that really caught my eye was this DX235LCR model which featured the central European favoured two piece boom arrangement.
Wandering outside of the stuffy halls to catch some fresh air, I came across the Wacker Neuson stand. Wacker Neuson have a massive portfolio of products ranging from small compaction plates right up to full size hydraulic excavators, so they could be described as a bit of a one stop shop. Amongst the new launches on the stand was the much anticipated EW100, this new 10 tonne class wheeled excavator features an optimized hydraulic system and a new ECO operating mode.
Also displayed was the new Wacker Neuson ET90. This machine will compete in the 8 to 9 tonne class and looks like a really handy piece of kit! The machine on display featured two piece adjustable boom and dozer blade.
Of particular interest to my hosts at the event CBL Plant Sales, who have consistently proven to be one of the top Takeuchi dealers in the UK, was the latest offerings from the company. Star of the show for the Japanese manufacturer was the new TB210R, which is the long awaited replacement for the outgoing TB108 micro excavator.
Other new additions from Takeuchi included the new TB230 & TB240 models, offering end users even more choice in weight and size. The TB240 will come with air-con as standard which should really appeal to owner/operators. There was also a launch for the TB216 Hybrid which I hope to cover in more detail at a later date.
On the Morooka stand visitors were treated to the world premiere of its new MST-2200VDR model. This 11 tonne capacity dumper features a superstructure that can rotate through 360 degrees and fully tip a load at any angle. This is Morooka’s first fully rotational dumper and is powered by a Cat C7.1 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine which develops 186 kW @ 2000 rpm and drives the hydrostatic transmission (HST). The model on stand was the 2nd off the production line and will be joining the fleet of newly formed National Tracked Dumper Hire Ltd in the UK straight from the show.
Chinese manufacturer LiuGong displayed its new 856H wheeled loading shovel which was “penned” by an all British design team. The machine has been designed with the European market in mind and features a full EU Tier 4 Final emissions compliant Cummins QSB6.7 diesel engine. Like so many LiuGong products this wheeled loader uses well proven components like a ZF driveline system and a ZF AP3000 axle. We expect to see this machine and E series excavators at Plantworx later this year.
Crushing and screening buckets were also in abundance at Intermat with the guys at MB Crushers putting on a spectacular demonstration throughout the duration of the show. Although absent from the show as an exhibitor this year, Caterpillar were represented on the MB Crusher stand by two 320E models fitted with the relevant sized crusher and screening buckets.
And finally in this batch it was great to get a first glimpse of Turkish manufacturer Hidromek’s new motor grader models. The result of the company’s purchase of the Mitsubishi grader business, Hidromek displayed two models including this MG460 model.
Lookout for more Intermat highlights later this week here on the Digger Man Blog.