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Digger Man on the Case in Paris

Wed 06 Nov 2013

Digger Man on the Case in Paris

On our bus journey to the Case Customer centre which is situated in Monthyon, to the north of Paris, I was hit by a wave of nostalgia, as we passed road signs for Le Plessis Belleville and Crepy en Valoise. Both these places are steeped in excavator manufacturing history, with Le Plessis Belleville being the home of Georges Bataille, who was the founder of Poclain, the famous French excavator manufacturer. In fact, further on in our journey we passed the actual site of the former Poclain factory, which is now owned by CNH’s agricultural division. I was constantly on the lookout for some old Poclain machines during the bus ride, but sadly it wasn’t to be, as I never spotted one during the trip. Case, of course, have a long association with Poclain and this region of France, having bought a majority stake in the Poclain business in the mid 1980’s, after which time the machines were named Case Poclain and featured the familiar Case yellow & tan livery. The Poclain name was dropped in 1999, finally bringing to an end the story of this one time leading player in hydraulic excavator technology. However, I was here to check out the Case Rodeo, (lookout for my report in the next issue of EARTHMOVERS magazine) and once that had been completed, I decided to go exploring around this excellent facility, to snap some shots of the demonstration fleet machines that are available for customers to try out. The first machine that caught my eye was the latest 7.5 ton offering from Case, the CX75C SR (Short Radius) excavator. This long awaited replacement of the old model, which has been absent from the range for about 3 years, was launched at Bauma earlier this year and features a Tier 4 Final emission compliant engine, which offers a rated power output of 55hp (41.2kw). This machine looks a nice piece of kit and is sure to please those who had many years of good service from the old model. I then headed out the back to the demonstration area, which is an extensive plot of land consisting of extremely heavy clay, which gives the machine a good workout! It was here that I came across three Case wheeled loaders that were all running, but nobody was around to take them for a spin. Most impressive was this 1021F. This 24.6 ton loading shovel is the third largest in the Case range, and is powered by a 320hp (239kw) engine. This machine uses proven selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, which meets Tier 4 interim emissions standards, whilst also delivering increased power and improved fuel efficiency. On reflection I should have asked for a quick spin in this and other machines on the plot, but maybe next time I will! The next port of call was further on up the plot, at the excavator demo area, where I came across this very smart looking CX145C SR, which was fitted with a useful knuckle boom arrangement and dozer blade. The demo operator was putting the plot straight again after a customer had been trying out the machine. Fans of the regular Case CX models are sure to like this short radius 14 tonne offering, especially on congested housing site jobs. Also in this area one of the female journalists was being given instruction on how to operate this Case CX250C model. Back down at the area overlooking the main demonstration arena, where the rodeo competition was held, I came across a wheeled excavator in the shape of this WX218 model. The 21,500kg WX218 is the largest in a four model wheeled excavator range and is powered by a 173hp (129kw) FPT Stage III / Tier 3 diesel engine. Inside the Case Customer Centre, there are two restored items of classic Case machines; these include a 1530 Uni-Loader one of the early models from the company’s skid steer range. Whilst up in the main showroom, there is a fantastic restoration of a Case 530 “Construction King” centre mount, backhoe loader. The Case 530 Construction King was based on Case’s 530 model tractor. The tractor chassis itself was built in Racine, Wisconsin, USA, while the loader and backhoe were built in Burlington, Iowa, USA. These almost legendary machines were manufactured from 1960 – 1967 and were powered by a Case G188 engine, which offered a power output of 48hp (35.8kw). The famous Construction King model was reinvented again in 2010 when Case launched a new T series of backhoe loaders, bearing the historical name. One of these latest machines, a 590ST model, was also on display at the top of the main arena. The team at Case in Paris put together a great weekend for all the competitors and associated press. I for one look forward to returning again soon. And I wouldn’t mind a shot on the new M series dozers while I am there! Hopefully one to look out for in the future here on the Digger Man Blog.  

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