Our good friends at Finning Caterpillar, had number of machines on display both inside the hall and outside. It was almost impossible to take any photos of the machine located inside the building as the hall was incredibly busy, but outside I came across this 149hp Caterpillar 930H which features the High Lift loader arm option.

Also shown adjacent to the 930H was this Caterpillar M318D MH wheeled material handler, fitted with a 169hp Cat C6.6 Acert engine. This machine is based on the highly successful M300 series of wheeled excavators. The machine is fitted with Caterpillar’s unique SmartBoom, which is said to reduce stress and vibration being transmitted to the machine and thus giving the operator a more comfortable environment to work in.

On the Liebherr stand I was very impressed by the smart looking R317 Litronic tracked materials handler. This machine has an operating weight ranging from 17,200kg – 21,700kg, depending on specification and is powered by a 122hp Deutz engine. The Liebherr products certainly have a look of quality about them and this machine was no exception.

Liebherr celebrated 50 years of excavator production at a special event held at the impressive Colmar production facility in France only last week.

Next door to the Liebherr stand was another German manufacturer’s machine in the form of a new Sennebogen 818M model, which was on display on the John Hanlon Company Ltd stand.  Sennebogen has an illustrious history in the manufacture of cranes, excavators, and in particular material handlers, having been established by a young Erich Sennebogen in 1952. The company, although not so well known in the UK as some other brands, continues to have great success in the material handling sectors around the world.

New Holland presented a host of products including this W190C wheeled loader seen fitted with solid tyres. The W190C features New Holland’s Tier 4 interim SCR (selective catalytic reduction) technology. This model hosts many new features which includes the capacity for bigger payloads, faster cycle times, and a fuel consumption reduction of up to 10%. Described as a medium sized machine with big performance, it is well suited to the waste handling sector.

Mini excavators continue their relentless march into all kinds of industry sectors, and a good example of this was the New Holland E50B SR 5 ton zero tail swing machine that was on display. These machines feature the same Smart Hydraulic System technology that is fitted to new Holland’s 50 ton excavators, so you can be sure of plenty of digging power in a compact form!

Not to be left out on the skid steer front New Holland showcased its recently launched L225 skid steer loader, which features the patented vertical lift Super Boom with its best in class forward dump height and reach. The L225 also delivers fast cycle times and higher productivity with its impressive bucket breakout force.

Finally a visit to the Case stand and another host of products all aimed at the booming business of waste handling and recycling. The WX210 Industry is based on the successful WX210 wheeled excavator, the WX210 Industry is available with a choice of 2.5m hydraulically raised deluxe cab, or two fixed height cab settings that offer an increase of 800mm or 1,300mm over the standard machine. Customers can opt for a standard undercarriage width of 2.5m, or an optional heavy duty undercarriage with a 2.75m width. This provides maximum stability at full reach in all working positions.

The machine is equipped with a 6.8m straight boom and a choice of 3.8m or 5.2m dipper arms, providing a maximum reach of 11.8m and a maximum pin height of 13m.Powered by a six cylinder, 5.9 litre engine, the WX210 offers 173hp (129kW) of power. An intelligent electronic control and monitoring system ensures 100% efficient utilization of the three hydraulic pumps, preventing overload and maximizing performance.

The 821F is one of a host of new models launched by Case this year. Powered by a Tier 4 Interim compliant 6.7 litre engine, the loader has 227hp (168kW) of power available.

The F Series loaders feature stronger, faster hydraulics than previous machines and customers can choose between a single servo lever control or an optional two-lever hydraulic control system for high productivity operations.

The event was a great well organized show and whilst many of the items on display were of little interest to me personally, I was very pleased I took the time out to visit.