It’s the Chinese way with LiuGong

by Nick Drew | Mon 26 Aug 2013

It’s the Chinese way with LiuGong

Following on from my recent article in Earthmovers Magazine, here’s a follow on blog post featuring some more photos from my site visits that didn’t make it into issue 113.

There was quite a debate going on over the weekend on Jack Westwood’s Demolition Machines Facebook page, about the merits of Chinese equipment, in particular the LiuGong range, when Simon Barlow posted a LiuGong photo and posed the question, “What do we reckon about these?” I have to say I am constantly amazed at the bashing that all types of kit get on the ever expanding plant pages on Facebook and the internet in general. If we took the advice of many contributors, we would probably never buy a machine again. As for the Chinese machines, well yes, I have witnessed some shocking examples in recent years, but I still think that LiuGong are leading the pack when compared to other Chinese manufacturers.

During my visit to South Coast based dealer Construction Plant & Machinery Sales (CPMS), I was told that many people who saw the machines for the first time assumed they were a Caterpillar product, and were convinced straight away that it was a good machine. Many were not even aware that LiuGong was a Chinese brand, assuming straight away that it was yet another Korean make.

Many of the demonstration machines had been sent out to sites without the LiuGong branding on them, as a way of getting over the brand snobbery that we all know exists. I can honestly say, that most of the operators who I met using these machines during my visits, were genuinely happy with the machines performance and comfort levels in the cab.

It will be very interesting to see the latest E Series LiuGong Stage 3B Cummins powered excavators reaching our shores in the not too distant future. Some of these models, as seen below, were displayed by LiuGong earlier this year at Bauma in Munich. I hope to get hands on with one of these when they finally reach the UK.

We all use Chinese based products, or products that are assembled in China on a daily basis, often without even realising it, just take a look at where your iPhone was assembled! So why not Chinese plant and machinery?

The proof of the pudding will be just how well these machines stand up to the rigours of hard work on typical UK sites, where operators and conditions are sometimes quite hard on the machines. Only after a few thousand hours on the meter will we really see if they are up to the metal.

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