James Venerus, General Manager Product Marketing at Komatsu Europe, discusses how Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) can accelerate tiltrotator adoption through deeper collaboration with leading manufacturers and simplified integration that puts operators first.
Growing Demand for Tiltrotators
Long standard in Scandinavia, the demand for tiltrotators is now rapidly growing across the rest of Europe. This surge in adoption showcases tiltrotators' ability to enhance excavator versatility, reduce manual labour and significantly improve on-site productivity.
The UK market has historically been slower to adopt tiltrotators compared to Scandinavia, but this is now changing. Multiple factors have held back adoption, including hardware costs, installation complexity, and industry mindset. As UK adoption accelerates, OEMs have a clear responsibility to address these barriers and ensure customers can adopt this technology seamlessly.
Deep Collaboration with Tiltrotator Manufacturers
Driving true value for our customers means eliminating complications through closer collaboration with tiltrotator manufacturers.
By doing so, OEMs can enable quality-assured, factory-integrated solutions. This means a deep collaboration where the OEM brings their engineering expertise to design the machine's electrical and hydraulic systems from the ground up, ensuring the excavator is built to recognise and communicate perfectly with specific tiltrotator brands.
For the Komatsu PC220LC/LCi-12, this collaboration resulted in a "smart" Plug & Play approach that requires only a small number of connections between the machine, the tiltrotator and the controller. This significantly cuts installation time and ensures reliability right from the start. In addition, the machine features programmable control levers with integrated tiltrotator functionality as standard, so no further work is required to replace the control levers.
The system can control rotation and tilting while also including features such as posture hold control, which automatically maintains attachment orientation. This makes digging and grading with a tiltrotator easier for the operator, especially for those new to tiltrotator technology.
Looking Ahead: Listening to Customers and Delivering Solutions
As technology advances and job sites become increasingly sophisticated, OEMs need to proactively develop machines with enhanced tiltrotator readiness. However, this must be driven by listening closely to customer needs and understanding their specific operational challenges.
The role of the OEM is to foster deeper collaboration with tiltrotator manufacturers to deliver integrated solutions that genuinely address customer pain points.
By working together, OEMs and tiltrotator manufacturers can create seamless, factory-integrated systems that reduce installation complexity and costs, making the technology more accessible to customers and help them be prepared to meet future demands.
Making Operation Intuitive
Making a machine more efficient also means making the operator's life easier. Full utilisation of the tiltrotator's capabilities depends on intuitive control features. Modern excavators, such as the Komatsu PC220LCi-12 with Intelligent Machine Control 3.0, offer unique assistance features that simplify tiltrotator operation.