A major debut for a truly innovative machine. Only a few weeks after the launch at Samoter of the E305 “C Series” - which offers the new Tier IV reduced emission engines - the New Holland dealer MC, based near Chieti, in Central Italy, requested three of these new machines. Now they are working alongside an existing fleet of ten New Holland excavators. 
A high profile order for MC: SGI (Società Gasdotti Italia) is the second largest national gas distributor with a network of approximately 1300 kilometres in central Italy and a total of 350 users between home owners and companies. ALMA C.I.S. – the contractor who is carrying out the construction of the pipeline – is a company with a prominent role in the methane pipeline sector, with a team of highly trained specialist operators and welders using state of the art equipment. 
The New Holland Construction fleet is working along the first stretch (15 km) of the Cellino-Teramo-San Marco methane pipeline that will continue for 90 kilometres between Abruzzo and Marche. The pipeline will be used to expand the Adriatic ridge of the SGI network that will join with the SNAM RETE GAS network (the main Italian gas distributor) and be able to be incorporated into the National gas pipeline network. 
“We have a very ambitious development programme,” stated engineer, Mr. Paolo Alessio from SGI “ and we are progressing very well and we are close to having 50% of the activity finished after only 3 short months of work.” SGI is planning to finish and activate the line before the end of the year. “These optimum results will enable us to comply with the growth programmes for our network and to demonstrate good performance capacity which is also thanks to the efficiency of the contractor and the New Holland Construction machines,” adds Alessio. 
The construction of the methane pipeline is a severe test for reliability and one that the New Holland Construction excavators have passed with flying colours. Delays to contract times, machine downtime or problems liked to work safety are not permitted and therefore optimum conditions for showing off the value of the new excavators from New Holland Construction.
The work is carried out in different phases: and starts with the opening of a track that is then staked out and threaded. The tubes are then welded and placed at the centre of the trench.
There are thirteen New Holland Construction excavators in use on the Cellino-Teramo methane pipeline: eight are being used for laying the tubes (three E305C, one E305B and four E215B), an E175 excavator is employed for the curving of the tubes and an E215B for welding. Another two excavators (E385B and E215) are used for the other digging phases. With such a large and efficient machine fleet, the work which started in April is already ahead of the contract time. 
The application requires absolute precision and a particular balancing of the machines. For the laying of tubes which usually happens over a length of some 250/300 metres, several excavators are used that are aligned along the route. One of these lays a single tube of some 12 metres long, 50 metres diameter and weighing 1200 kg.
Egidio Felice, SGI Methane Pipeline Project Manager says: “One criterion for selecting a contractor is the machine fleet. We want it to be as new as possible and from a contractor who is ahead of the game in terms of safety. Initially, we check all the documents and in this case have particularly checked the movement of suspended loads which is really important in our work.”
The SGI PM continued to say. “The anti-tilt alarm is also very useful, throughout the route of the gas pipeline we have major slopes and having a device that warns you when you are starting to exceed the limit is a great help in terms of safety.”
We should also mention the “Heavy Lift” function appropriately designed to increase the strength of the lift as well as the accuracy and smoothness of the movement in the load moving operations. In a job where safety and precision are very much at the fore, the New Holland Construction excavators have all the cards in play.
Camillo di Giovanni is an expert operator who has been working for some time in earthmoving and in the building of gas pipelines. He says that he particularly appreciates the balancing of the New Holland Construction excavators and the immediate response of the proportional controls that provide great controllability and they are a great help in such precise work, as the laying of tubes.
Also the new EVO cabins, ROPS anti-tilt certified and with FOPS protection (standard) already present in the Series B excavators, are mentioned as being particularly quiet and comfortable owing to the absence of vibrations. New in the new E305C model is the easy to use colour monitor on which, apart from the traditional work parameters it is also possible to see consumption. The lower part of the monitor is connected to a read-view camera which is always on, providing total security. It is also possible to select from the monitor 9 pressure types and 9 different uses of the equipment (pliers, hammers, etc.).
