HYDREMA DUCKS INTO ACTION

Mention the Danish manufacturer Hydrema to anyone in the construction industry and they immediately respond with gushing comments about their truck’s off-road capabilities.

Depending on which part of the world you are in, sadly that is the end of many people’s knowledge of the brand. Their stronghold of Northern Europe will tell you differently, as the company has been manufacturing backhoe loaders for over 60 years and wheeled excavators since the early 1990s.

As there are a plethora of manufacturers offering wheeled excavators to the cost-conscious UK and Irish markets, the highly specified and robustly built Hydrema has fought against its opposition for market share. Liked by owner-operators who could justify the additional costs for the higher specification, Hydrema’s wheeled excavator range has found several homes where they have delivered exactly what their owners bought them for: reliability, strength, and longevity.

One of the latest arrivals has been added to the PF Murphy and Sons fleet, where a new MX18G has recently landed to help them out on a large civil engineering contract for Northstone Materials’ Craigantlet quarry, where a new asphalt and concrete batching plant was being built.

Having operated a wide range of wheeled excavators from a number of high-profile manufacturers, knew what they wanted from the get-go. “We have run ducks from 12 to 20 tonnes over the years, with some being far better than others,”

Finbar commented. “As a lot of our work is in the water and heavy civils industries, we needed a machine capable of undertaking a wide range of duties, from trenching to installing and moving pipes around.

“The Hydrema’s overall package really impressed us enough to place an order...

We looked at several models available in the 18-tonne weight range, narrowing down the list to just two manufacturers, Liebherr and Hydrema. We knew a lot about the Liebherr product and loved their crawler excavators, but it was the Hydrema’s overall package that really impressed us enough to place an order.”

Supplied by Hydrema’s Northern Ireland dealer, Castlewellan-based Ballyward Plant Services, the new arrival is the first new Hydrema wheeled excavator to be supplied in Ireland. Ballyward is a multi-make dealer and has been supplying both Hydrema and a wide range of other products for almost a decade. Headed by Robert McAlerney, Ballyward was already known to the Murphy team, as they have purchased a 912F truck, Adler drill rig, and road brush from Robert over the past few years. “There hasn’t been a huge wheeled excavator market in Ireland for us,”Robert commented. “Having the opportunity to build this very special machine with Finbar and Peter was a great chance to see what we can do in this market. Having such a machine in their prominent fleet will give the Hydrema MX range the boost it rightly deserves here.”

The MX series of excavators has five different models in its line-up: the MX14, 16, 17, 18, and 20. Whilst all are very similar, there are some distinctive differences to each machine. Finbar and Robert went through the options list available on each model. “Our main demand was that the machine should have a 2.75m wide undercarriage to allow the excavator to give us better duties when lifting pipes,” Finbar commented. “Although not on the options list, when we asked the question, Robert was able to get an answer back from the factory, who were happy to build the machine on the wider undercarriage.” As this was very important to Finbar, he was then able to complete his specification of the excavator. “While we have ticked a few boxes on the option list, the basic spec of the Hydrema is very good,” Finbar commented. “Even having the black paint scheme to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary was completed on the production line with no issues at all.”

The wide undercarriage is shod with Delcora 315/70-22.5 tyres, with no spacer ring, to provide a combination of ample traction and flotation on bad ground. Standard fitment includes a pair of sturdy toolboxes allowing regularly used items to be stored securely on the machine. A set of stabilisers has been fitted to the rear of the chassis, whilst the front holds a BM hitch, which can be fitted with a removable dozer blade. “We chose the BM hitch to give us a little more versatility in carrying a bucket carrier or hitching attachments up,” Finbar comments. “We have also prepared the undercarriage for towing our trailer, and as seems standard with Hydrema, both ends of the chassis are piped for hydraulics, electrics, and brakes when you tick that option box.”

FINBAR MURPHY

PARTNER PF Murphy & Sons

ROBERT McALERNEY

OWNER Ballyward Plant Services

The compact tail swing and huge cab give the machine a somewhat unbalanced look with the long, two-piece boom and stick out the front. But this is far from the truth, as Finbar says it is the most stable wheeled machine he has operated. “Even cross carriage with a full bucket I struggle to get the back end to lift.”

The huge cab has been designed to work on the company’s rail road machines and has surprised Finbar with the huge volume of space inside. “There’s masses of room behind the seat and that’s with it slid all the way back,” he explained. “I wish I had ticked the coolbox option now, as that would have filled the space comfortably.” With a heated and cooled seat and a straightforward instrument layout, the Hydrema comes with its own tiltrotator-ready joysticks and operating system, which means the new Steelwrist XTR20, fitted by Martin Graham at Innovate NI, is simply a plug-and-play addition.

“The operating system isn’t quite as in-depth as Steelwrist’s own version, but it gives us everything we want and need,” Finbar commented. “The lightweight design of the XTR20 makes a difference on the machine, and you notice the reduction in weight straight away.”

The Hydrema has been designed to allow easy and safe servicing access. With a small panel allowing access to the machine’s battery compartment and also the AdBlue and fuel tanks behind the cab, to the electrically operated gullwing panel on the offside of the body, which lifts to reveal the compact Cummins engine with all daily check points easily accessible from ground level.

“What you get for the cost is well worth the money”

Along with the distinctive black paint scheme accented by the red livery for the company’s 40th anniversary, Finbar and Peter have adorned the excavator with MittX lighting bars from SType X. “Pat’s done a great job matching the red on the bars to the livery on the machine, he’s a great person to deal with,” Finbar commented.

Finbar has chosen to fit the MX18G with a two-piece boom and the intermediate stick choice of 2.5m. Irish fabricators Titus have supplied a range of buckets and attachments, including a multi-purpose carrying box. “It only arrived this morning, so I’ve not been able to try it out yet,” Finbar explained. Quickly picking it up on the four-point hitch, he was able to drop the Swedish-style bucket off and use the Steelwrist’s integrated gripper to pick up a Ho-Pac compactor to take it over to a service trench they were backfilling.

The mobility of the Hydrema was shown off to the full as Finbar quickly moved up and down the side of the service trench, feathering in material before dropping off the bucket and attaching the Ho-Pac compactor. Having the OilQuick coupling on the Steelwrist allowed the Ho-Pac to be connected and disconnected in seconds, upping production. At full stretch, the Hydrema remained firmly on the ground at all times, even with Finbar pushing it to its limits.

“We know the Hydrema is a well-made and robust product,” Finbar commented. “We also have the reassurance that Robert will look after us if there is an issue. As for the cost, we knew it was going to be at the top end of the market, but what you get for it is well worth the money.”