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Plant Editor Nick Johnson tries out some of the latest generation 1.5 to 2.0 tonne
Volvo mini excavators and is impressed with their controllability and ease of
operation.
New Volvo minis feature big changes
Volvo first showed its new design 1.5 to 2.0 tonne mini excavators at the Bauma 2010 exhibition in Munich and the
machines are now starting to be seen on site in increasing numbers. Their development has taken some three years
and involved a significant number of operators and buyers in customer clinics along the way.
Compared to their predecessors, the newcomers have model numbers that better indicate their operating weights
- something that is often important to rental companies and their customers. The new minis are designated the
EC15C, EC17C, EC18C and EC20C. They replace the EC15B in its XR, XT and XTV versions as well as the XT and
XTV variants of the previous EC20B.
The EC15B and EC20B had a reputation for being good diggers but their design was getting somewhat dated as
it was directly descended from the Pel-Job models EB150 and EB200 introduced in 1997. Volvo had taken over Pel-
Job and its French factory in Belley two years earlier and the machines made there all gained the Volvo badge in
2000.
All-new from ground up
Building on this heritage, the four
new minis are being made at Volvo's
Belley factory. They are all new
from the ground up although, sensibly
for rental fleet operators, they
can utilise the buckets from their
predecessors.
The smallest EC15C is an entry
level, cost effective machine that
weighs 1540kg with canopy, or
1630kg with cab. It has a fixed
width undercarriage, a short arm
dozer blade and single speed travel -
a very sedate maximum of 1.9km/h.
The all-new EC20C, EC18C, EC17C and EC15C
should boost Volvo sales in the high volume 1.5 to
2.0 tonne sector of the mini excavator market.
An EC15C in operation with a matched HB100LN low
noise hydraulic breaker. The excavator's top mounted
boom cylinder and neat internal hose routing can
clearly be seen.
Page 14 CP&E Contractors Plant & Equipment Vol 1 No 8