ENGCON UK has hailed the fourth Big Dig Day as the most successful event yet in the series.
Operators who made their way to the West Country Water Buffalo Farm near Yeovil in England’s south west recently, got to enjoy a a full line-up of the firm’s products at the live demonstration exhibition.
Twelve machines were equipped with an Engcon tiltrotator and a variety of buckets and attachments for visitors to test. Some of the models featured different brands of 2D and 3D controls, such as Leica, iDig and Moba.
Mark Clare, Engcon UK’s area sales manager, who organised the event, said, “What a fantastic couple of days. We are absolutely delighted that so many operators took the time out of their busy schedules to come down to our latest Big Dig Day. There’s no better way to show operators the value that a tiltrotator and working with Engcon can add to their business than through live demonstrations.
“Everyone that came had the opportunity to try out the complete range of Engcon products on a variety of excavators from a number of the leading brands on the market. This meant there was a wide range of different models and control systems to experience, ensuring the Big Dig Day catered for every operator, no matter what brand or system they were used to.”
In the smallest weight category, visitors had the chance to put CM Plant Hire’s Chris Meek’s Yanmar SV18 mini excavator through its paces. The machine had an entry-level Engcon EC02, grading bucket and the SS1 control system. Chris said, “These live demonstration events really are an invaluable opportunity for operators to try tiltrotators and realise what they are missing out on.
“I first heard about tiltrotators a few years back and was lucky enough to attend the first Big Dig Day in 2017 as a visitor. I attended because of my interest in innovation and to see what all the fuss was about. Once I’d had a go and used a tiltrotator, I was completely hooked.”
At the other end of the scale was Kirk Hough’s 22-tonne Hyundai HX220, with an Engcon twin hitch set up, including the EC226 tiltrotator with EC-Oil, Q-Safe quick hitch and QSC locking system.
Darryl Simmons, operator for Kirk Hough, commented, “We wanted to demonstrate the benefits of using Engcon with 3D Leica machine control. This has been a complete game-changer for our business so the Big Dig Day was the ideal platform to show this to other operators.
“We’ve invested in this technology because of the versatility it offers us. On the more complex jobs in particular, it comes into its own. Not only making us much more productive on-site, but also making us self-sufficient. What used to be at least a two-man operation for footings and gradients for example is now a one-man job with Engcon and Leica. You don’t need an engineer on the ground as there’s no setting out or pinning to do.”
Other machines available to test out included a Kubota KX101-3 with EC204 and SS9, a Takeuchi TB240 with EC204 and DC2 and TB290 with EC209, DC2 and Moba, a Bobcat E62 with EC206, DC2, QSC and iDig, a Sany SY26 with EC204, DC2 and iDig, a Hitachi ZX65 with EC206 and DC2, a Kobelco SK140 with EC214 and DC2, and a Hitachi ZX140W wheeled excavator with EC219 and DC2.
MJR Civils bought along its JCB JZ140 machine, which features a 15-year old Engcon EC15 with SS5 controls, one of the oldest working tiltrotators in the UK.
Robert Hunt from Engcon UK said, “The fact that we had 12 excavators from different manufacturers with varying control set ups was a massive attraction for operators.”
