FinnMetko Earthmoving Section Round Up (Part One)

The FinnMetko exhibition is held in Finland every two years, and is the largest forestry machinery show in the country, of course the main focus of this event is forest machinery and associated equipment including trucks, but of interest to me and our readers, there was a dedicated earthmoving section to enjoy.

This year’s family friendly FinnMetko exhibition featured over 340 exhibitors with all the major manufacturers and dealers having a presence showcasing a wide variety of products. Over the course of the three days a total of 30,700 visitors attended!

On my first day, having grabbed a coffee in the press room, I headed straight for the earthmoving section, which in itself was quite a walk along a meandering pathway through the forest. I made a short stop at a viewing platform somewhat reminiscent of the one we see at Hillhead, which offered a bird’s eye view of part of the earthmoving section.

My first port of call was to the fine folk on the Rentti Tracwest Oy stand, who are the main Case Construction equipment dealers for Finland. They had some really interesting machines on the stand, including a CX180EM a high clearance excavator with tree planting attachment from Risutec.

Also standing out from the crowd was the 836D AWD motor grader, one of two recently sold to Asfalttikallio who are one of the largest asphalt contractors in Finland. The machine was sporting the company’s corporate green livery which looked stunning.

The new Eurocomach inspired Case mini excavators were also represented both statically and on the demo plot where a 5-tonne class CX50D was available for visitors to try out.

Just across the way we next visited the stand of Hyundai construction equipment dealers Suomen Telakone Part of the Finnsiirto Group.

Standout machine for me on this stand was the forestry spec 15-tonne class Hyundai HX145A LCR which has been sold to Rauma based timber contractor Metsä Hallio. This was one of two examples of this machine on the stand, sold to two different contractors and both featuring the ‘beefed up’ track guarding which is essential in the harsh timber harvesting sector.

Also on the stand was an example from the A-Series Hyundai mini excavators the HX19A, and it was here that we were greeted by two promotional girls, one of which was Siiri Riitsalu, from the excellent Helena Riihitupa Oy organisation who provide professionals to assist on the stands, the company does a fantastic job at many events and is well respected in Finland.

Avesco Oy are best known as the main Caterpillar dealers in Finland, but in addition they have most recently taken on the dealership for Magni telescopic handlers. And standing proud amongst the yellow Caterpillar machines was a RTH6.31 rotary telehandler model.

Standout machine on the stand was the Next Generation Caterpillar 317 which according to our good friend and Avesco’s marketing manager Irene Järviö is the best-selling size class excavator in Finland. Its very interesting to see this, as they are a great compromise between a 15-20 tonne class machine, however we don’t see that many of this size class in the UK.

On the Avesco Cat demo area it was great to see youngsters being encouraged to get behind the levers in the machines, including the 8-tonne class Next Gen 308 model, something that is actively promoted in Finland and well-supervised too, just brilliant to see.

Checkout our video clip collection from the stands. 

More material from FinnMetko later this week.