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The Gift of Sharing

Tyler messaged me initially commenting that we both had something in common, both of us are ex ice hockey players and we are both working in the construction machinery industry, so there was plenty to chat about. Tyler played hockey in the illustrious Canadian Western Hockey League (WHL) where some amazing players have started their careers over the years, for me it was the lesser well known, Heineken British League Division One, it’s often mentioned to me during my travels overseas, that many people don’t even realise the sport is played in the UK, if you’ve never seen or been to a match, I highly recommend you take one in, it’s a truly great sport! Anyway, back to diggers, Tyler then mentioned that he was keen to share some photos with us, some of which I’m delighted to publish in this post.

Photo: The Taylor XLS-1000 Logstacker which has a lift capacity of 100,000lbs. 

Taylor is one brand I had not heard of before. Taylor Machine Works, Inc, to give it the full billing, is based in Louisville, Mississippi and was first founded as far back as 1927 by Mr W.A Taylor, Sr. The company manufactured a number of different products for the forestry and agricultural sectors, but since the 1950’s the main focus has been on heavy industrial forklifts, in conjunction with forestry kit.

Just recently the company has introduced a new range of wheeled loaders, when I first saw the photo above of its T-1035 model C/W log grapple I thought, hold on, that looks familiar, and after a bit of research, I have discovered that they have entered into a JV with Chinese manufacturer LiuGong, who will be building the machines with custom red paintwork for Taylor. There is currently a 4-model range of Cummins powered machines, starting with the 34,193lb T-1023, up to the 67,902lb T-1045 model. The second largest model has an operating weight of 54,013lb and is powered by a Tier 4 Final Cummins diesel engine offering a power output rating of 315hp (235kw).

Another American brand I had not heard of before is Pettibone, who are based in Baraga, Michigan. This company predominantly produces telescopic handlers, which are typically North American in design, very low profile, with a long and wide undercarriage for increased stability.

These machines can also be specified with the unique Pettibone Traversing Boom concept, which offers the operator up to 70 inches of horizontal boom transfer, as the boom base can be adjusted backwards and forwards hydraulically. Checkout this video from Pettibone to learn more.

As I understand it, Tyler works for a machinery dealer and rental business and gets around a bit, while out and about he snaps photos of the machines he is involved with. The company also sell French Manitou machines including this 3200 VT model from the manufacturers new range of tracked skid steer loaders.

Finally, in this batch from Tyler, an unusual machine, the Cat R1700G underground mining wheeled loader model.

We thank Tyler for sharing these photos with us here on the Digger Man Blog.