Several new machines were on display at this year’s Diesel Dirt & Turf. Earthmovers & Excavators was on site to see what manufacturers and distributors had brought to the show
This year’s Diesel Dirt & Turf (DDT) took place at the Sydney Dragway in April and saw a collection of new machines, attachments and tech put on show for the construction industry. Here we highlight some of the key items on display.
Komatsu
Gold Sponsor Komatsu had one of the largest displays on site at DDT, with a highlight being a PC88MR-11 short tail swing excavator showcasing Komatsu’s 3DMG machine guidance technology.
Komatsu product manager Marc Brook says that this is the first time the 3DMG technology has been seen outside of Komatsu’s construction class excavators.
“We had a lot of feedback from our customers asking us to offer this tech on a wider range of machinery,” he says.
“3DMG allows the operator to upload design files to the screen so they can dig to the design plans, whether that is digging to a certain depth or following trenching and boundary lines.
“The excavator we brought to the show has a swing boom, and previously there have been limitations when using machine guidance – maybe you had to keep the boom straight for the GPS to be accurate, or have it fully swung to one side.
“With 3DMG, the sensor array that we have on the bottom of our boom here allows us to maintain the accuracy of the bucket cutting edge at any angle. So, wherever that boom is swung to we can get high accuracy readings for our machine guidance system on the tablet inside the cab.”
Another new addition to Komatsu’s lineup is a non-Tier 4 PC138 excavator that removes the need for AdBlue.
Komatsu national business manager for excavators Mark Boyes says this model variation has been designed for contractors that don’t have a requirement for AdBlue in their work, but otherwise functions exactly the same as a Tier 4 PC138.
“In remote areas in Australia it can be difficult to manage AdBlue because it’s not only time sensitive with regards to quality, it’s also affected by temperature. This means that, if you can’t effectively manage AdBlue, running machines with this requirement becomes very difficult. This variant has been developed to fill the gap in the market,” he says.
“We have made some improvements with this specific release, which will also be available on the Tier 4 version, such as factory-fit second attachment circuits and the 3DMG product. We also have attachment control, where the operator can set pressure and flow on the main attachment circuit.”
CEA
CEA took an extensive range of SANY machinery to this year’s DDT, showcasing the wide range of excavators, telehandlers and material handlers that it is now offering across Queensland, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia.
CEA strategic marketing manager Tara Stewart says the event was key to highlight what CEA can offer customers, running from mini excavators through to 90-tonne excavators, plus a range of material handling equipment.
“We’re excited to hit the ground running with our new partnership with SANY and it’s a great opportunity for our both our existing customers and new customers in the Australian market,” she says.
“We’ve started bringing in the telehandlers and material handlers, which is a market that we know really well, and we’ve been able to work with the SANY product team to develop a product that is best suited for our market.
“We’re really excited about what that’s going to look like for a whole heap of different industries, including rental and construction.”
Amongst the bright red SANY spread were a selection of blue electric models, including an SY19E being demoed in the sand pit.
Weighing in at 1.95 tonnes, the 10kW mini excavator is a great option for smaller contractors who are working in enclosed spaces or on noise-restricted sites, says SANY Oceania senior dealer manager Matt Apps.
“With the motor only being 85 decibels, these can be used inside schools, inside hospitals, and for government projects that restrict emissions,” Apps says.
“You can take the canopy off, so you can get under car ports, and you charge it with a standard three phase power system, so you’re not affected by the current diesel price fluctuations.
“It’ll run 7.6 hours, depending on ambient temperature and what you’re doing with it. You’ve got three charging options, with the quickest being an hour, so you can plug it in during a lunch break.”
Other electric options on display were the 23.2-tonne SY215E with a 1.1 cubic metre bucket capacity and the 4.3-tonne SY35E with a 0.12 cubic metre bucket capacity.
CJD Equipment
Volvo Construction Equipment distributor CJD Equipment showcased the new reduced-swing ECR355 excavator, which CJD Equipment operator, trainer and product manager Grant Payne says is “revolutionary” in the updates it brings to the market.
“It has a new light package, new blade assembly, more ground clearance, is around 15 per cent more fuel efficient than the previous model and there’s a longer servicing life, so lower cost for the customer across the whole span of the machine,” he says.
An example of Volvo CE’s new K Series loader range was also on the stand – the 24-tonne L150K – one of three new models to join CJD Equipment’s loader lineup this year.
“This one carries our TP [torque parallel] linkage, which is our own design and unique on the market,” Payne says.
“There are high vis handrails, boosts to the power and stability of the machine and a reduction in the noise. There’s also an upgraded lighting design and smaller bonnet for greater visibility.
“These two machines are suitable for smaller quarry operations and other material handling situations such as soil yards.
“We’ve also brought an electric variant close to the size of the K loader, the JL120H, which is fully electric. These are great for customers working in an environment where they need low noise machinery, or a government application that has emissions restrictions.”
A third new addition to the stand was an A45 model articulated hauler with a 42-tonne payload capacity – one of Volvo CE’s next generation of articulated haulers. Payne says maintenance and accessibility were a key focus in the design to make it ergonomic for the operator and simple to undertake daily checks.
“Everything is at ground level for servicing and maintenance,” he says.
“Another benefit of this is front independent suspension, which reduces operator fatigue and stress on the body.
“There’s a lower bonnet, larger cab, larger opening span on the tailgates, quicker opening and an improvement in all around visibility. It’s a gamechanger.”
WesTrac
The star of WesTrac’s stand was the redesigned Cat 140G grader, which has undergone a complete upgrade. There’s a new cab, nine-speed transmission, 10-inch touchscreen, reversing fan and swing-out radiator, LED lighting, rearview camera, external parking brake, push start ignition and tyre pressure monitoring system to mention just some of the new features.
Cat ANZ technology application specialist Chris Barrett says it’s exciting to be able to offer a whole new suite of technology to customers on such a popular model.
“We’ve got an option on there called 3D ready, which gives customers the flexibility if they want to use that,” Barrett says.
“They can either rent that software month by month, year by year, or they can put it on outright. So there’s greater flexibility, particularly for local government customers.
“The redesigned frame gives greater visibility and in demonstrations with customers the feedback of the new cab is that it’s quite a bit more roomy.”
The Cat 140G is being offered in six-wheel drive and standard drive options with the model on the stand fitted with a new high performance circle.
“The high performance circle uses a slew bearing from the 320 excavator and is fully sealed, so there’s no maintenance needed on the circle,” he says.
“For people trying to chase millimetres when they’re doing grade control, that eliminates the need to tighten anything up. There’s no shoe or pinion – all that’s gone – so it’s a very good circle for customers wanting tight tolerances with their machine.”
Serviceability on the grader has been improved with service points at ground level and filters are now recyclable and common across different machine types.
“If a customer has a 320 excavator for example, and they’ve got a 140 motor grader, a lot of the filters might be interchangeable with one another, minimising their holding costs on filters,” Barrett says.
Elsewhere on the stand, WesTrac was demonstrating the ease and speed of changing out Cat Advansys tips – a task one person can do with one tool.
WesTrac BDM wear parts Jason Rigg says the aim was to show customers the advantages of having a hammerless retention system.
“This system just uses a ratchet or a breaker bar to turn spinning cups, a bit like the original J Series,” Rigg says.
“This saves having to use a hammer and striking force to remove pins, which reduces the risk of injury from either getting hit by the hammer or debris coming off the off the pin, and avoids pinches from changing edges or tips.”
Rigg also highlighted Cat’s single life cutting edges as being a more efficient and lower cost alternative to double bevel cutting edges.
“With a double bevel cutting edge, as you start to wear through the front edge, you spin the edge around and use the rear edge. However, it’s challenging to get the timing of that right, so single edges can be a more cost effective approach,” he says.
For graders, Rigg says WesTrac’s GraderBit2 system is a way that operators can get more from their machine by using different teeth along the leading edge instead of the flat blade.
“You can run wide tips that fit closely to each other and forms a straight edge or you can run different configurations of tips to get a serrated edge of varying sizes, which allows material to flow through the tips to recirculate road base material for example,” Rigg says.
“There’s a tungsten face on those tips, which has a much higher wear rate. This means that councils doing road maintenance across many kilometres don’t need a second person to come out to a remote road work site to change an edge.
“You can have these tips sitting in in the vehicle, and the operator can change them out. They’re just a pin clip in and out, and they’re only the size of your hand, so they’re quite small and light, and the high wear rate is 20 times that of a traditional edge.”
FWR
Trailer manufacturer FWR was exhibiting at DDT for the first time and had a variety of models on display, including its flagship Super Tilt.
FWR owner Arron MacCue says the company had been expanding its presence with the opening of a second site in Wacol, Brisbane and the show was a great way to showcase FWR’s wide range of trailer models to the NSW market.
“We’ve brought our single axle tag trailer, Mini Muscle all hydraulic, Elite single and two customers’ Elite tri axle tag trailers,” MacCue says.
“These are in addition to the Super Tilt, which has been a big draw to the stand, and a drop deck Widener.”
He says FWR’s ability to customise to a client’s needs has been a major focus in building the brand.
“We want to get to know our customers and understand what they want before we quote them,” MacCue says.
“We’ve got 10 to 15 different product lines, so we cover all facets of transport.
“It’s good being on the ground and talking to our existing customers and meeting new customers.”
XCMG
With XCMG offering a vast array of machinery, DDT visitors were spoilt for choice, but a highlight of the stand for national product manager for EWP, telehandlers, forklifts and port equipment Greg Meyer was the XT2506E electric telehandler.
Weighing in at 2.5 tonnes, the XT2506E has a six-metre reach and two-tonne lifting capacity.
“It completed its stability testing in China in December last year and this is the first of the fully electric telehandlers to come onto the market,” Meyer says.
“This is all about cutting emissions. A lot of these units are pretty compact, so they’ll drive underneath car parks, and can be used for internal work when building factories/large buildings as well as in mining. There are no emissions, it’s silent, and a very capable machine.”
Overall, Meyer says there’s a growing demand for electric telehandlers, and the XT2506E can run for seven hours on a single charge.
“This is the first of our telehandlers that’s lithium, and we’re launching this into the Australian market for tier one sites, mining and green conscious construction companies,” he says.
“This is the first of what will be a series of material handling machines particularly designed for indoor work, because as laws around emissions evolve, these machines will end up being a requirement. We’re trying to be ahead of the game here on that behalf, and it’s the first of many to come.”
Colbrook
On the Colbrook stand an American import was drawing lots of attention. The Barko 937B industrial wheeled tractor is a new addition to the company’s lineup, picked up fresh off the dock just a week before the event.
“We’re very excited to have it here for everyone have a look at,” Colbrook business developer Hayley Plageman says.
“This is the largest model we have in our range of vegetation management equipment. This one has a Sheerex head on it, but you can fit any head to it, and this has big forestry spec tyres.”
Powered by a 380hp (283kW) Cummins QSL9 Tier 4 diesel engine, the 14-tonne Barko 937B has pressure ratings up to 5,500 psi, a top travel speed of 25km/h, a unique 45-degree articulation joint for handling extreme conditions and a ROPS/FOPS floating cab design for all-day comfort.
Another recent addition to the lineup is the Diamond Mowers Drum Mulcher DC Pro X2, shown for the first time at DDT.
“We’re bringing them in with the options of the hydraulic door and pressure gauge,” Plageman says.
“They’re more of an upright style compared to the previous model but have the same robustness and support that people expect from Diamond Mowers.”
Being demoed nearby was the RC Mowers Autonomous Mowing Robot (AMR), showcasing the productivity gains that can be achieved with autonomous technology. Plageman says a single operator can run three AMRs at a time, which is ideal for large areas of mowing, particularly in hot weather.
“You just map out an area and it will manage that by itself,” Plageman says.
“It has detection sensors, so if it comes across anything bigger than a basketball it would slow down and let you know that there’s something in the way. If it doesn’t move in a certain period of time, it will stop the mower, shut the blades down, and it’ll ask you to run a map and course around, or you can decide to investigate it yourself.
“The operator can set three of them up and then go Whipper snipping or hedging or something at the same time, which is a huge boost to productivity.”
ITR Pacific/Miller
With ITR Pacific recently announcing a partnership with Miller, the stand included an impressive display of what ITR now offers, from large attachments and aftermarket parts through to filters, final drives and the Miller collection of excavator attachments.
Miller Australia operations manager Sean Congo was on site to outline Miller’s offering and says the partnership with ITR Pacific has been doing very well.
“Miller’s been in Australia for around 10 years and we’re known for being reliable, strong and cost efficient,” Congo says.
“Here we brought a 1.8-tonne ready to dig kit, which includes a ripper, a mud bucket, a 450mm general purpose bucket, a 300mm general purpose bucket, and the hitch.
“We’ve also got a 3.5-tonne tilt hitch, five-tonne standard hitch, a 38-tonne GT X for a caterpillar, an eight-tonne Caterpillar GTX and a 14-tonne power latch tilt hitch.
“Our quick hitches are well known on construction sites for speedy changing of attachments, and you can get significant productivity gains.”
Hitachi
Amongst the collection of orange excavators, a Bell grader had joined the Hitachi stand.
Hitachi Newcastle rep Jeremy Siwek says DDT marked the first time the grader had been shown in Australia and marked an exciting step forward for Hitachi.
“This is our new G160 Bell grader, which has been in development for several years,” he says.
“We’re thrilled to be launching the new Bell, which will come online in the next 12 months.”
The G160 has a 280hp (209kW) Cummins engine and an operating weight with push block and ripper of 21.6 tonnes.
“It’s extremely powerful and joystick controlled,” Siwek says.
“It’s been in development for a while as Bell and Hitachi didn’t want to bring out a product that wasn’t going to be suitable for the demanding Australian conditions. It’s going to be a market leader before you know it.
“Visibility is key in all our machines along with operator comfort. An operator will generally spend the whole day in a grader so we need them to be comfortable.
“That’s a key feature right across the Hitachi range as well, having more window space, which means better visibility, and means it’s safer. You’ll notice that right across our range, we’ve got a lot more glass than other competitors in the cab.”
The G160 joins the G140 in Australia, signalling Hitachi’s growing focus on the road building and maintenance market.
“There are a lot of farmers that use these for roadworks as well as civil contractors,” Siwek says.
“The civil industry has gone wild the past 5/10 years so it just seems like a natural progression for Hitachi to work their way into that.
“This is great for our customers because it makes us more of a one stop shop, where they can come to us and get a whole range of machines versus just excavators.”
Another addition to the stand was a couple of new dash 7 wheeled excavators – the ZX155W-7 and ZX220W-7.
Hitachi major accounts manager – NSW Barry Cahill says these models, mounted on road tyres, were proving to be popular with road builders that were looking for excavators with a higher lifting power.
“These can be used for lifting concrete barriers and moving them around whereas, previous, that was often done by wheel loaders with forks,” he says.
“These come with a tilt rotator, which means 180-degree rotation for all the different attachments, which makes it the Swiss Army knife of civil sites.
“With the 220 you’re in the 20 to 25-tonne range, which means greater capacity. The smaller models are often used on high rails for working on the rail network.
“Basically it’s a beefed-up dash five model with all the mod cons and modern trimmings like heated seats and GPS.”
“The key things is that they are really simple and intuitive to use, which is what Hitachi aims for right across the board. You don’t have to sit there reading a manual for three hours to learn how to operate it. It’s literally just plug and play and off you go.”
Steelwrist
Steelwrist managing director Darryn Wilson ran EAE through the key points of the new SQ40 quick coupler, designed for excavators in the four to six-tonne range.
Being shown for the first time in Australia at DDT, Wilson says the SQ40 has an automatic oil connection system which allows an operator to pick up a hydraulic attachment and connect automatically without needing to get out of the cab.
“You don’t have to plug in hoses, you don’t have to worry about high pressure oil leaks or anything like that, which makes this a lot safer and efficient,” he says.
“We’ve produced a range running up to the SQ90, for a 70-tonne machine, and we sell a lot of these into demolition and sites where people don’t want to get out of the cab. So that way it just takes the safety factor to another level.”
Another addition to the site was Steelwrist’s next generation of tilt rotators, the XTR20, designed for excavators in the 15 to 20-tonne range.
“This is a new direction for us,” Wilson says.
“It has a sensor lock system called LockSense, which means that when you’re in the cab, you can see confirmation that it’s locked. The locking system is all fed straight back into the cab, so you can control it, and you can see, and you can have confidence that it is locked.
“We’ve got an automatic lube system in here, so we aren’t running hoses everywhere. All our pivot points now are greaseless, so we don’t have to get out and grease them, and it’s lighter.”
Tutt Bryant
On the Tutt Bryant stand a highlight was the new Yanmar track loader range introduced into Australia late last year – the TL65RS-1C, TL75VS-1C, TL80VS-1C and TL100VS covering an operating weight range of 3.9 tonnes to 4.8 tonnes and engine power between 50kW and 77.2kW.
Tutt Bryant NSW state manager Scott Ewan says that there’s already been good take-up amongst customers.
“We’re taking on the big players in the industry with a quality product,” he says.
“We’re aiming at the top end of the market, rather than entry level. From a quality perspective, they’ve been made to a standard rather than a price. There are little things like easy exit through the top of the cab. They don’t have a full cage, so that you’ve got better visibility along with reverse cameras.
“Another standout is ease of access into and out of the machine and the air conditioning set up to Australian standards.”
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