Plantworx “shines bright like a diamond”

Sat 18 May 2013

Plantworx “shines bright like a diamond”

Plantworx has been hailed a success by its organizers, the CEA (Construction Equipment Association) who put on this great new event after two years of careful planning. For too long, we had suffered from not having a regular plant show in the UK, and from what I heard from fellow visitors that did take the time out to attend, everyone enjoyed themselves despite some dodgy weather during the first two days. The team behind Plantworx calculated the total attendance at 11696, with an impressive 60% of these visitors pre-registering to attend. In addition the quality of visitors was deemed very high. It wasn’t SED, but neither should it have been, it was Plantworx and from the buzz I was getting from people I met around the showground, a vast majority were very impressed and optimistic about our new home for the much loved working plant show.

Volvo Construction Equipment chose Plantworx, as the official UK launch platform for their newly created Volvo Operators Club. A great initiative that gives operators the chance to sign up for membership, and to compete in the UK heats which could eventually lead to gaining a spot in the European finals which will take place in Germany in the Autumn. The contestants took part in a number of different challenges pitting their skills against the clock, in what proved to be an incredibly popular stand attraction.

I think the Volvo Operators Club is a great idea, and I was so impressed I even signed up to it myself. I called back to the New Holland stand on the last day to snap some more shots in the sunshine. On stand was the new WE150B Pro wheeled excavator, the smallest from the three model range, that I covered on my old blog host shortly after the launch back in November last year.

Also on the New Holland stand was the smart looking new E85C MSR mini excavator, which features a Tier 4 final engine, which is said to offer fuel savings of up to 30%. I had hoped to get some stick time on this machine but sadly a hectic schedule prevented me from trying out the machine on this occasion. I am however hoping to test drive the model in the not too distant future.

One person who did find the time however, was David Simmons, a machine operator from AR Demolition, who took some time out from demonstrating the Oil Quick system on the ECY Haulmark demo plot, to be filmed by our friends on the new Diggers and Dozers video site.

Over at the Case demonstration plot the latest CX130C was being test driven by visitors to the show. I have always loved these machines as an operator, top class and very smooth to operate. It would not surprise me to see some of these machines making an appearance at the Royal Cornwall Show next month either.

Over on the Wacker Neuson stand this combination caught my eye. Another example of the increasingly popular 8 ton class mini excavator the 8003 on steel tracks, which was paired with one of the company’s 6000kg swivel skip dumper models the 6001. This machine was also equipped with a fully heated cab, something that I think is a great idea for dumpers in the UK, considering our grim weather conditions.

Talking of dumpers, over on the Cautrac stand they had an impressive display featuring 3 stacked Morooka low ground pressure tracked dumpers. These machines are part of an order for 12 Morooka’s for Eagle Plant Hire.

I will bring more personal highlights from my Plantworx experience over the coming days

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