Swooping in on the CASE Eagle Days

Tue 23 Jul 2019

Swooping in on the CASE Eagle Days

Dig Day style events are becoming an increasingly popular way for manufacturers and dealers to showcase their products to existing customers, potential customers and members of the media. These events offer them a more dedicated audience than say at the big shows where people pass by relatively quickly on route to the next stand, so they may not always be getting the attention they deserve.

Having had a strong presence at Bauma in Munich earlier this year, CASE chose not to attend Plantworx in the UK, but instead decided to hold its own Eagle Day event, the first day, Monday 15^th July, being an exclusive media day, with the full on customer day taking place on Tuesday 16^th, which saw a steady flow of customers throughout the day. In all fairness there was nothing new on display that we hadn’t seen before apart from the new 9 tonne excavator, but there were six machines available to try out and the aforementioned excavator which was dedicated to the manufacturers popular Rodeo competition. Two dozers from the CASE M Series range were presented the 162hp 1650M and the 226hp 2050M which is the largest of these hydrostatically driven machines. CASE says that the Fiat Power Train (FPT) engines with SCR-only emissions-reduction technology (no particulate filters used) save 10.5 percent in fuel, and offer an increase in productive efficiency of around 19% compared to previous models.

The dozers which were both fitted with PAT (Power, Angle, Tilt) blades, feature a blade control joystick that includes a shake function button for rapid cleaning of the blade at the end of a push, we saw a number of test drive operators using this function over the two days. A load-management. Both the 1650M and 2050M use a V-shaped cooling package to add cooling surface and a hydraulic reversible fan. The examples on display were both sport Leica GPS blade control systems. These machines have been around now since 2013 when they were launched at Bauma but still look very modern and stylish in appearance. Check out the 1650M being demonstrated below.

This year is the 60th anniversary of Case Construction Equipment wheel loaders, talking about this impressive milestone Case EMEA Wheel Loader Product Manager Alain de Nanteuil said, “Through the years every generation has introduced new innovations and capabilities and this all-new G-Series generation of Case Construction Equipment wheel loaders is the biggest leap forwards.”

At the Eagle days event CASE showcased 3 examples from the G Series range, the 721G XR (Long Reach) 821G and the 1021G. The company claims it has developed the quietest, most comfortable wheel loader cab available across the new range of G-Series machines and, in addition the wheel loaders are said to deliver the highest possible levels of visibility and control, providing operators with the perfect working environment to maximise productivity.

I spent some time in the 821G and was very impressed with the all-round visibility, exceptional pushing power, operator comfort and ease of use. The cab includes a full width panoramic windscreen, a colourful Premium Control interface with 8” display, fully adjustable seat-mounted control console, and the ease of automatic bucket functions adjustable from within the cab. The G-Series wheel loaders are powered by efficient EU Stage IV/Tier 4 Final diesel engines with no Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). FPT Industrial’s Hi-eSCR after-treatment system uses fewer components to meet exhaust emissions standards, allowing for a compact engine compartment and reduced maintenance costs for customers.

The G Series machines drive through proven Case transmissions that offer improved fuel efficiency and reduced cycle times. Case heavy duty axles with wet, multi-disc brakes, have open differentials to reduce friction, with an optional 100% Auto-lock to deliver maximum tractive effort and reduced tyre wear. On the excavator front CASE displayed the well proven CX300D and in conjunction with Steelwrist UK who were demonstrating the virtues of tiltrotators, the uptake of which continues to soar in the UK market. Its been a long slog promoting the concept but I’m sure all the major manufacturers are now enjoying the benefits of their labours as the once sceptical Brits are now embracing the idea.

Check out our video of one of the test drives, featuring a first time "tilty" user.

CASE took the opportunity to hold its UK round of the ever-popular Rodeo Challenge competition during the Eagle Days period. It was a hotly contested affair as usual with operators using the new CASE CX90 to negotiate a hanging steel rod through the CASE lettering, but once again it was James Covell who came out on top with a time of 32.75 seconds. In second place with a time of 35.20 seconds was Jamie Carey. The pair will join Tom Ball who already qualified at Bauma for the 10^th Anniversary Rodeo Final in Paris later this year.

We didn’t manage to catch James on video taking part in the challenge but here is one of the early contenders, Kenneth Hatcher giving it a go during the second day.

Eagle Days was a good informal event and there was plenty of time to get around and try the kit first hand which was nice. CASE told us they have plenty of surprises and new kit coming down the line soon, I for one am looking forward to covering it in due course.

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