Hidromek makes tracks for Scandinavia

Wed 24 Jul 2013

Hidromek makes tracks for Scandinavia

Abandon AB started its dealership arrangement with Hidromek in the autumn of 2012, and its first stock machines arrived in Sweden in January this year. So far the company have sold eleven machines, with more sales expected over the coming months. Peter said “eleven machines doesn’t sound like a lot of sales outside of Sweden, but to be honest, it’s pretty good really, as the Swedes are notoriously conservative when it comes to their choice of machines”. Back in their heyday, famous Swedish manufacturer Akerman, held around 70 per cent of the market for hydraulic excavator sales in Sweden, with patriotic Swedes making the brand one of the top choices. Today however, this market place is dominated by the big players like Caterpillar and Volvo.

Peter took to the controls of the Hidromek HMK 220LC, slightly unsure about what to expect. Peter said, “I found the Hidromek to be a really pleasant machine, and it was really smooth to operate, I quickly discovered that I could perform tracking and other movements at the same time with no problems”. This was clearly a reference to some other machines, where a loss of power is experienced when using two or more services together.

Peter continued, “The machine looked really solid in its construction, everything looked really tidy, with no criss crossing of hydraulic lines that really impressed me, as I often think about gaining access to replace pipes and hoses in the future. We generally run machines for around 5 years, so at some point you are going to get pipe failures, with this machine and the way the pipes are laid out, I can’t see it being a problem to gain access to them if there was a problem”.

Peter also described the undercarriage as being sturdily built, with good reinforcement at the front tumblers. Peter said, “There is good space between the upper rollers and the track frame, which is very useful here in Sweden when we have to dig out our track frames every night, to prevent them from freezing in the extremely cold winters”. The demonstration machine had only arrived in Sweden the day before Peter’s visit, so the dealer had not had the time to fit it with a tiltrotator. As regular readers of the blog will know, virtually every excavator sold in Sweden up to 30 ton class, is fitted with a tiltrotator as standard equipment.

Peter said, “The price was really attractive and very competitive compared to other makes sold here, I don’t really take the various Chinese machines sold here into account, as I don’t feel they are of the same quality, however I do expect to get some flak for saying that!” Peter also got a chance to try out Hidromek's 14 ton offering the HMK140 which was also sporting the optional dozer blade attachment.

Abandon AB have built up a standard stock of approved parts as recommended by Hidromek. With any parts that are not in stock in Sweden, the customer can order before 4pm for delivery in Sweden the next day before 4pm We thank Peter for sharing his experience and photos with us here on the Digger Man Blog.

The magazine for owners + operators

News

Digging deep into construction machinery news

Hidromek makes tracks for Scandinavia

Loads more

Metso dealer McHale reports success

Tenstar simulator to inspire next generation of op...

Wacker Neuson teams with Open-S Alliance and Clean...

Subscribe to Earthmovers