The sun shines for Vincent Tractors Kubota Dig Day

Tue 01 May 2018

The sun shines for Vincent Tractors Kubota Dig Day

The event took place at its spiritual home within the grounds of Gnome World Holiday Park in Indian Queens, so I felt right at home straightaway! A warm welcome from Matthew Hodge, Matt Fox and the rest of the Vincent Tractors team awaited visitors of which there was a steady stream throughout the day, all keen to see and more importantly get “hands on” with the latest offerings from Japanese compact machinery specialists Kubota. One of the highlights for many, myself included was the new 2.8 tonne KX030-4. The new model was launched to the UK market at the Executive Hire Show earlier this year and is the long-awaited replacement for the ever popular KX71-3.

The majority of the local visitors were keen to try out the new machine, but fortunately I was able to gain exclusive access earlier and will be reporting on the KX030-4 in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine, so one to look out for.

The event was also supported by Exac-1, Geith, Whites Material Handling, Chicago Pneumatic Tools UK & Ireland who all displayed items from their product portfolios. Also, in attendance were Engcon UK Ltd who were demonstrating a Kubota KX57-4 with Engcon EC206 tiltrotator c/w EC-Oil system. This machine attracted a lot of people who were keen to see and try out a tiltrotator, which has become the “must have” attachment of the moment in the UK.

The U27-4 has proven to be a popular machine for Kubota since the zero-tail swing model was introduced back in 2014 and there was no shortage of people waiting for a go on the example on the demonstration plot. This lad’s father runs Callington based Micro Mini Plant Hire & Groundworks a company who take on tricky jobs often in tight sites and the U27’s compact dimensions really appealed to both father & son.

At the larger end of the scale was Kubota’s long-standing entrant in the 8-tonne class in its latest reincarnation the KX080-4 Alpha. I have heard rumours that Kubota could be making a larger excavator in the future to compete with another well know competitor, it will be interesting to see if it becomes a reality. Who knows, maybe something to make a big splash with at next years Bauma Trade Fair.

The 5-tonne class Kubota U48-4 is another zero-tail swing model which was proving to be popular on the demo plot, this example like many on the day was fitted with a Whites digging bucket which featured the carrying hooks on it, a great addition for when moving the machine around site.

It wasn’t all mini excavators though; Kubota’s range of compact wheeled loaders was also represented by the RT270. This loader which was fitted with a 4 in 1 bucket, combines heavy-duty axles with a maximum capacity of 12 tonnes to provide a travelling speed of up to 25km/h. Local contractor Bert Sandercock was putting the machine through its paces on the day.

The Digger Man Blog would like to extend our thanks to the Vincent Tractors team for the invite and for the kind hospitality we received on the day. Check out some video footage from the day.

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