During our time in the country we will be visiting the Engcon factory on the Thursday, and then attending the MaskiExpo 2012 exhibition, which is held at the Stockholm Outdoor Exhibition Area from 24^th - 26^th May. I look forward to bringing you a taste of the action in some upcoming blog posts. In the meantime to get you in the mood, here is an amusing pre-show promotional video featuring some Cat equipment, that as you will see are all heading for Stockholm!

I am looking forward to meeting up with my many Swedish friends from the top European forum Maskinisten.net, and I will catch up with all our fantastic readers on my return from Stockholm.. adjo !

The giant Acco bulldozer was originally built in the early 1980’s to work on a land development contract in Libya. It was part of an order which also included the giant Acco motor grader. Sadly both machines never made it to Libya, due to the infamous Col. Gaddafi’s alleged involvement with international terrorism in those days, which led to the United Nations endorsing large trade embargoes against the country. As such the machines have been lying in storage in Italy ever since, and have never turned a track or wheel in anger.

However just last week, this massive 183 ton monster, which was assembled using mainly Caterpillar parts fired up its two 675 hp Cat engines which produce a total power output of 1,350 hp (1,010kw) to climb onto a low loader for its move to a new resting place in Portograro, in Venice. Details are sketchy but I believe that the video shows the machine arriving at its new location.

Regular digger blog reader Rob Atkins, was recently working on a job which involved cleaning out and widening a lagoon on a farm close to the small town of Market Weighton, in East Yorkshire. Whilst on the job, Rob spotted this old Atlas 1302E “Rubber Duck” hiding behind some trees.

According to the serial plate, this machine was built by Atlas Weyhausen in Germany during 1987 and weighs in at just over 16 tonnes. The farmer who owns the machine told Rob that it has not been used for at least 5 years, but a glimpse inside the cab might suggest that it has been rather longer than that.

Atlas machines, whilst popular in Central Europe, appear to have had a somewhat chequered career in the UK. I recall as a youngster travelling around the country during my ice hockey playing days, one would often see Atlas machines up in the North of England and Scotland, but they were rarely seen down South. I think there used to be a big Atlas depot near Bradford back in those days.

I am pretty sure I wrote a post on this unique earthmoving attachment in the early Contract Journal days of the Digger Blog. However I think you will agree, it’s well worth another look. The Power Dozer system can be fitted to most size classes of bulldozer, and is said, by its manufacturers, to provide faster and more efficient earthmoving than any other conventional machine on the market.

It's a very clever piece of engineering, and I could see the benefits of this system when backfilling trenches on pipelines as shown in the video, but one would have to say surely a conventional angle tilt dozer would be just as effective?

Already gaining success in continental Europe and also forming part of the Liebherr-Mietpartner rental fleet, the TA 230 Litronic is being brought into the UK, initially as a demonstration unit for extensive customer trials. Full product availability throughout the UK and Ireland will start in January next year.

The 30 tonnes TA 230 Litronic combines the compact transport dimensions of a 25t machine with the payload of the next-higher category. Its transport width is under 3 metres and with a 19m³ dump body volume, the TA 230 is the largest in its class with a shape specially designed for rapid dumping action.  

The three strongly constructed rigid axles are the basis for an extremely high-performance 6x6 driveline, with automatic transmission and torque converter. The ADT on display will feature a 10.5-litre 270 kW Liebherr D936LA6 diesel engine, which conforms with Stage IIIA / Tier 3 emission limits; Stage IIIB / Tier 4 interim will start at the end of 2012.