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Backhoe to the future with Rototilt

MH Groundworks’ latest JCB 4CX has been given a new level of versatility with the addition of a Rototilt RC3, creating what owner Matt Hendy describes as the “Swiss Army knife of diggers”.

Rototilt UK’s latest installation in the South West sees MH Groundworks combine a limited edition 40th anniversary RC3 with JCB’s new generation 4CX. Based near Helston in Cornwall, MH Groundworks carries out a wide range of residential, agricultural and general groundworks projects, making versatility a key consideration when adding machinery to the fleet. The new 4CX brings together JCB’s DualDrive system, a front quick hitch and Rototilt’s RC3 with QuickChange and gripper, allowing the machine to undertake digging, grading, loading and handling duties without constantly changing machines or repositioning around the job.

The machine follows the highly distinctive black 4CX built for contractor and social media personality Owen Gillard, which was shown on the Rototilt UK stand at ScotPlant earlier this year. Both machines demonstrate how the traditional backhoe loader is developing into something far more adaptable. On MH Groundworks’ machine, experienced operator Shane Pascoe can use the RC3 to tilt and rotate the attachment to suit the work, while QuickChange allows compatible hydraulic attachments to be changed from the cab. JCB’s DualDrive system means Shane can also drive and steer while facing the excavator end, reducing the interruption normally associated with repositioning a backhoe.

MH Groundworks owner Matt Hendy has used tiltrotators within the business for almost 12 years and now operates ten machines equipped with them. Matt is also a Rototilt dealer and ambassador for the South West through MHG Rototilt Southwest, so the latest 4CX is both a working machine and a practical demonstration of what the technology can offer local contractors. “It can do pretty much any job that we need it to do,” says Matt. “Over a day you might burn a similar amount of fuel, but you’re getting a lot more work done. They’re a game changer and the machines work so much better and so much more efficiently.”

The installation also comes as Rototilt celebrates 40 years since the launch of its first tiltrotator in 1986. Over the past four decades, the concept has developed from a specialist attachment into a complete system of tiltrotators, couplers, control systems and work tools designed to help excavators work more efficiently and with greater flexibility. MH Groundworks’ new 4CX shows how that same thinking can now be applied to one of construction’s most established machine formats, giving the backhoe a new role on today’s increasingly varied jobsites.

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