by Nick Drew | Sun 29 Jun 2014
Hillhead wows the crowds
Hillhead 2014 took place last week at the famous Buxton quarry in the glorious Peak District. The show has seen massive exposure over the last few days on various forms of social media, so we will just take a brief glimpse in this post. I will however be compiling a more in-depth report for Earthmovers Magazine.
There was plenty of buzz around the showground during my three day tour around the stands, with the organizers reporting a total attendance of 17,559. Amongst the crowds there were serious buyers who were keen to invest in new kit as the UK economic recovery continues to gather pace. Many of the stands I visited reported orders being taken and deals done during the course of the show.
Ammann dealership A & Y Equipment displayed an extensive line up of their products including the new SV26 mini excavator and the zero tailswing Vio 33 model seen below. In addition the company displayed a new to the UK market low ground pressure tracked dumptruck the Panther from Prinoth.
Doosan displayed a number of its New Generation products including Series III wheeled loaders like this DL420-3 model which features a Stage IIIB emissions compliant Scania engine.
Liebherr GB had an impressive stand featuring a number of new models including the R 914 Compact excavator, PR 736 LGP dozer and the R 922 22 tonne class excavator. But the star on the stand had to be the big R 970 SME excavator.
The Finning Cat stand is always a showstopper and this year’s big attraction was the 374F L ME hydraulic excavator, which keen eyed readers may recall, I was lucky enough to try out in Malaga earlier this year. The machine was displayed mounted on a Finnish Sleipner excavator transportation system, designed to move tracked machines around quarry’s quickly whilst reducing track wear.
Our friends at Volvo had masses of new products to show us on stand including a new 5 tonne class mini excavator, new G series ADT, H series wheeled loaders and at work on the demonstration plot the new E series EC380E purchased by Collins Earthworks.
JCB brought new machines to the party and put on regular displays throughout the three days. Here we see the JCB 437 wheeled loader being put through its paces on the dusty demo plot. The latest machine in the wheeled loader range was the new 457 which was launched at ConExpo earlier this year.
At the entrance of the showground as a teaser of what was to come, there was a large second hand Liebherr 764 dozer which was for sale if anyone is interested?
Look out for the full report on the show in a future edition of Earthmovers Magazine.
