REVIEW
A LOOK BACK AT THE EXECUTIVE HIRE SHOW… The annual Executive Hire Show, held at Coventry’s Ricoh Stadium in February, always provides a barometer for the plant and tool hire business, a way to gauge business confidence and potential investment for the coming year. Despite a downturn in construction across many sectors, there is still plenty of work out there and, if the numbers attending the show are a true representation of interest, there are plenty of companies looking for new equipment. There is no shortage of manufacturers keen to meet their needs either, with a host of new and improved models on offer at the show. These are some of the machines that caught Plant & Civil Engineer’s eye at the 2019 event.
SUNWARD
PARKWAY PLANT SALES
There was a new player on the mini excavator market at the show, in the shape of Chinese manufacturer Sunward Equipment Group. Imported by UK and Ireland distributor J-Mac, the firm will initially bring in machines in the 1-10 tonne sector.
Compact tracked dumpers were certainly not in short supply at this year’s event, with Parkway Plant Sales exhibiting a number of models from Italian firm C&F.
However, Sunward makes excavators from 1-90 tonnes, along with piling equipment, wheeled loaders and skid steers and J-Mac will expand the offer as sales grow. The company currently has 10 dealers signed up, but is looking for additional outlets, working towards a network of around 30 partners across the UK and Ireland. J-Mac intends to keep a good supply of stock and the Sunward machines are said to be competitively priced, with a two-year/3,000-hour warranty included.
Launched at the Bauma exhibition in 2016, the company now has six models on offer, with capacities of 450kg to 1,500kg. Larger machines, up to 2.5-tonnes capacity, are promised over the coming years. The main feature of the C&F range is a single-joystick control system on all models above the 800kg T85. The mono lever is said to make the dumper easier to operate and an ideal choice for rental businesses.
TAKEUCHI Takeuchi had a range of mini and midi excavators on show, including the popular TB225 model that was launched last year. With the power of a 3.0-tonne machine and an operating weight that allows the machine to be moved on a trailer behind a pick-up or van, Takeuchi has sold more than 200 of the TB225 model excavators since last April. The company will add a number of new machines to its lineup at this year’s Bauma exhibition, including the TB235-2 and the TB250-2, both boasting EU Stage V diesel engines. There will also be new versions of the TB260 and TB290, both using diesel particulate filters (DPF) to meet the new emissions standard, plus Takeuchi will launch a full-electric mini excavator as a production model at the show.
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PLANT & CIVIL ENGINEER
