Unusual Benati Long Reach Excavator (Archive Photos)

Our Swedish friend Robert Carlsson gave me a heads up on this photo which was posted on a great Facebook page Historische Baumaschinen, which as the German title suggests is full of interesting historical photos of machinery from years gone by.

Italian manufacturer Benati had a long history of building agricultural and construction equipment. In 1961 they launched their first fully hydraulic excavator the 8-tonne class MAX80. By the 1980’s they were producing a whole range of excavators, wheeled and tracked backhoe loaders, just one of many Italian construction equipment manufacturers from those days.

The photo that caught Robert’s eye (pictured above) was this one of a kind Benati BEN 610 CSB models which at the time was one of the largest machines built in their famous factory in Imola, which was later to become the home of Fiat-Hitachi and the CNH brands before its closure last year. The machine which features a variable geometry boom arrangement is seen draping its long arm over the entire length of no less than seven motor cars. The Benati 610 CSB tipped the scales around 63500kgs depending on specification and was powered by a 330hp Fiat diesel engine.

Photos courtesy of Historische Baumaschinen: Above: the BEN 610 CSB in its face shovel configuration.   

Benati was a massive brand back in the day and I believe that parts of the business continue to this day under the Messersi banner. Checkout this video which is a collection of historical Benati photographs, apologies in advance for the cheesy background music.