The construction equipment market constitutes five main segments, i.e., earthmoving equipment, road construction equipment, concrete equipment, material handling equipment, and material processing equipment. Of this, the earthmoving equipment segment comprises over 60 percent of total market share of construction equipment. While there are many equipments that fall under the earthmoving equipment category like backhoe loaders, skid steer loaders, excavators etc., it is the mini excavators that deserve a special mention. This is because the mini excavator market in India is growing at a scorching pace. In fact, as per Research and Markets Report—Indian Mini Excavator Market Outlook 2020, “The mini excavator market in India has been growing at around 12.5 per cent during 2015-2019.”This exponential growth of mini excavators is expected to continue in the future as well.
Decoding mini excavators - Real estate, infrastructure, urban development, general construction, and agriculture projects often involve digging work, backfilling, utility works like pipe and cable laying, and material movement at the jobsite where space is a major constraint. Here comes the importance of mini excavators. Mini excavators are compact, lightweight, portable, and tracked machines in the earthmoving equipment category. They generally come with a standard backfill blade and an independent boom swing. The arm-boom combination interfaces with a wide range of attachments. Generally, excavators less than 8T are considered mini excavators and are as efficient as small excavators
Mini excavators are of two types, i.e., ones with conventional tail swing and ones with zero tail swing. Both the mini excavator models offer a rear counterweight that stabilizes the excavator during operation and offsets added weight in the bucket. The difference is conventional tail swing model has a higher swing radius, provides great lift capabilities and bucket and arm breakout force. As for the zero tail swing mini excavator, it is efficient equipment that can easily operate in tight workspaces and can easily dig very close to the walls. That said, overall, mini excavators combine powerful performance with easy manoeuvrability.
Major benefits offered by mini excavators
Offer multi-functionality and high productivity as compared to backhoe loaders:
Mini excavators offer a host of advantages over backhoe loaders. They are designed with the capability to make a 360-degree swing and have almost zero turning radius. The owning and operating cost associated with mini excavators is much lesser than backhoe loaders. Be it digging, trenching or filling job; mini excavators can perform all the tasks with speed and less fuel consumption. Further, mini excavators are highly versatile and can be fitted with various attachments to perform a multitude of jobs.
Demand drivers for mini excavators Given the various benefits offered by the mini excavators, they are the most sought-after equipment at the jobsite. Let’s take a look at the major demand drivers for mini-excavators:
Given the increasing demand for mini excavators, there are many well-established companies in the country which are offering highly efficient and innovative mini excavators. One amongst them is the Sany Group
Advantages offered by Sany’s mini excavators - Sany offers four mini excavator models, i.e., SY20C, SY27U, SY35U, and SY55U. The major features of Sany’s mini excavators include removable canopy, deflectable boom, an option of rubber pads for working on the already made floor, digital display monitor for displaying information and change system parameters, robust undercarriage, and unique load sensing hydraulic system with pilot-controlled joysticks providing smooth operation and higher fuel efficiency. Sany’s mini excavators are also equipped with maintenance records and a remote management system. Also, models SY26U, SY35U, and SY55U have zero tail swing which offers trouble-free manoeuvrability, especially in congested spaces because its rear overhang outside the tracks is eliminated whereas SY20C is a short tail swing model to compensate for reduced breakout forces. Sany’s mini excavators also come with a host of attachments such as a rock breaker piping kit, trench bucket, auger, and standard bucket which increases its usability at the Jobsite. That said, Sany’s mini excavators offer unmatched productivity at better fuel economy, which can help contractors to maximize their gains.