JCB rolls out more new products pre-Bauma

by Nick Drew | Tue 22 Mar 2016

JCB rolls out more new products pre-Bauma

After weeks of hype on social media JCB held a press event at their World Headquarters to confirm the launch of the revolutionary new Hydradig wheeled excavator, but a raft of other products were on display too and the Digger Man Blog was there to witness the exciting news.

The star of the show was undoubtedly the Hydradig 10/11 tonne class wheeled excavator which I will be covering in more detail in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine but in summary this machine is innovation at its best. Sir Anthony Bamford looked delighted as the new “game changing” machine was unveiled in JCB’s impressive presentation facility.

Hydradig is the result of a 3 year project to design and build a unique machine for not only digging, but lifting and multiple tool carrying operations on congested sites and highway maintenance projects, offering end users visibility, stability, mobility, manoeuvrability and serviceability which is unrivalled in the wheeled excavator market in this size class.

Just in case you have not seen it, check out the final reveal video of the Hydradig campaign. [youtube width="725" height="344"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TokWGARRuoM[/youtube] But there were other surprises in store for us at JCB, where we saw the return of the JZ140LC a 14 tonne class zero tailswing excavator which actually tips the scales at 15.4 tonnes. The machine features a host of improvements including a Stage 3B/T4i JCB Ecomax engine boasting 111hp (83kW) under the bonnet and no DPF to worry about. The machine also gets an improved hydraulic system and increased access to the components for regular service work.

JCB also demonstrated more new additions to its mini/midi excavator range with models from 4- to -6 tonne. These were recently revealed at a pre-Bauma event in La Manga in Spain as reported in Earthmovers.

Mid-range wheeled loading shovels were also revealed including the 427 and 437 models along with smaller 411 and 417 models. All these new machines have now adopted the CommandPlus cab which we first saw at the launch of the flagship 457 wheeled loading shovel.

A fourth HiViz telescopic handler has been added to the range, which features the high visibility, low boom pivot point design which has proven to be a popular safety feature on the machines, offering the operator unrivalled visibility to the offside of the machine. The 540-140 HiViz offers a maximum lift capacity of 4,000kg and a maximum lift height of 13.47m on wheels, or 13.78m when using the machines stabilisers. Power comes from a choice of Tier 4 Final diesel engines.

Of great interest to me personally was the new JS131LC, as 13 tonne class machines have always been my favourite to operate over the years. This machine has been designed for rental customers and is said to offer fantastic cost of ownership benefits to the end user. It is equipped with a fuel efficient JCB Ecomax engine rated at 74hp (55kw) which meets Tier 4 Final emission standards without the need for a complex and costly diesel particulate filter (DPF), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or any form of exhaust treatment fluid.

The machine takes a lot of its DNA from the well proven JS130LC and uses the same high quality hydraulic pumps and valves as the JS130, tuned to perform with the 55kW engine’s output. This engine is said to offer a 10% fuel improvement over competitive machines, a reduced 99dB external noise level and a 10% reduction in operating costs with no AdBlue

All these machines will be available to see at Bauma in Munich next month.

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