Engineers, welders and assembly line employees have been recruited to meet orders for the new 10t wheeled excavator, which was launched last month at the Bauma trade fair in Germany.
You can read more about the JCB Hydradig in the April 2016 issue of The Construction Index magazine, which you can read online at http://epublishing.theconstructionindex.co.uk/magazine/april2016/ (link opens in new tab).
The JCB Hydradig was developed in secrecy over a three-year period, under the codename ‘Project 710’. The vision was to address five key challenges facing customers in today’s construction sector: visibility, stability, manoeuvrability, mobility and serviceability.
JCB chairman Lord Bamford, who initiated the project, said: “The Hydradig really does have innovation running right through the heart of it. In fact Hydradig will transform the industry and I am certain customers will quickly appreciate its benefits.”
JCB CEO Graeme Macdonald said: “The launch of the JCB Hyradig is not only one of the most significant launches in the company’s history, it is also one of the most successful. The response has been unprecedented and we have very high hopes for this revolutionary new product.”
JCB conducted analysis of the potential applications, including utilities, highways, municipalities, general construction and landscaping, assessing the suitability of current machinery solutions. Chief innovation and growth officer Tim Burnhope said: “Visibility from the cab was the main customer consideration because of on-site safety concerns. Stability was next on the list, as machines are now being called upon to do an increasing amount of heavy lifting, not just excavating. As job sites become tighter many customers are demanding improved manoeuvrability, while others need increased mobility to allow machines to move between sites more quickly.
“Finally, customers now expect excellent ground-level serviceability. So our design challenge was to develop a single machine solution that would deliver against all five customer challenges.”
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