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Harwinn’s new Develon DX100W-7

When he had to change the nature of his business for health reasons, David Hardgrave of Harwinn Agricultural and Construction Services Ltd, based in Market Harborough in Leicestershire, chose to build the next phase of his company around a new, 10.7-tonne DX100W-7 wheeled excavator from Develon, formerly known as Doosan Construction Equipment. The DX100W-7 was supplied by Corby-based Pioneer Plant Ltd, the Authorised Dealer for Develon for Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire and the PE and NG postcode areas of South Lincolnshire in the UK.

David Hardgrave commented, “I had a heart attack in 2021 and decided that it was no longer possible for me to do all the heavy lifting of pipes and the other physical work that I used to do as part of the groundworks contracts we previously carried out. I needed a change of direction and chose to move into the area of vegetation management and other aspects of highway management work. I looked around for the perfect machine to make the transition and the Develon DX100W-7 fits the requirement to the tee for several reasons.”

David had previously owned and operated several Doosan mini-excavators including six and eight tonne machines and when Pioneer Plant became the Authorised Dealer for the brand over two years ago, Brian Conn at Pioneer Plant was quick to point David in the direction of the new DX100W-7 when it was launched at the beginning of last year. The 10-tonne weight class represented by the DX100W-7 is new to the Develon range and the DX100W-7 is said to offer a high performance solution for customers looking for a wheeled excavator designed primarily for urban and road maintenance applications. 

Separate pumps
With 75kW (100hp) of power at 2,000rpm provided by a D34 G2 Stage 5 engine, the DX100W-7 offers high engine power, hydraulic flow and traction force for this class. The high flow from the smooth and precise hydraulic system can be used to drive all kinds of attachments, says Develon. In addition, the DX100W-7 has two different pumps providing independent hydraulic flows for the transmission and to fully power hydraulic tools on the front end. 

David Hardgrave added, “The DX100W-7 is the ideal size of machine for me and combines this with the ability to operate attachments such as mulching heads and tree shears for the type of roadside work we are aiming at. The ability to drive from one location to another is another key aspect as it means we don’t have to leave the machine on site and instead can drive it to a location where it is safe to store it overnight or for even longer.

“We have been carrying out a number of ecology projects using the DX100W-7 on behalf of quarry operators in the UK, helping to clay line used quarries to turn them into lakes for use by the community. We recently completed a project like this for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. We continue to take on topsoiling and verge projects on behalf of developers and the agility and manoeuvrability of the DX100W-7 are excellent for projects like this, allowing us to easily get between new properties on these developments,” David continued.

For this type of work, Develon reckons the DX100W-7 offers the best compromise between compactness and agility, complemented by excellent productivity and high-end comfort. It is very important that this type of machine can operate in very restricted areas, so the DX100W-7 at Harwinn Agricultural and Construction Services is equipped with the option of 4-wheel steering and a crabbing mode, with 2-wheel steering as standard.

Safety and spec
As well as agility in confined spaces, the DX100W-7 offers the highest safety and specifications on the market. The integral 1.35-tonne counterweight ensures the highest stability for lifting work in combination with the articulated boom and long arm, which together provide a larger working range than other machines in this class, despite having similar boom and arm lengths. The counterweight also has a novel design, offering the best maintenance access in the industry, from the rear of the machine and from ground level.

The articulated boom ensures that the operator is able to position the machine as close as possible to trucks during loading. In addition, the DX100W-7 offers maximised lifting capacities and digging forces, as well as satisfying a requirement in some countries for a wheeled excavator with a travelling height of under 4m.

Other safety features can be found in the state-of-the-art ROPS cab on the DX100W-7, where from a premium seat as standard, the operator can use the large 8-inch touchscreen to easily browse through all of the machine settings, including the view from the standard side and rear view cameras. The availability on the DX100W-7 of an optional 360-degree camera, linked with an optional ultrasonic detection system is another exclusive for a machine of this size.

Develon telematics
The DX100W-7 has the latest Develon Fleet Management TMS 3.0 Cellular system installed as standard, which provides a telematics management system for the excavator, by collecting data from sensors on the machine. Commenting on the support provided by Pioneer Plant, David Hardgrave said, “The back-up is really important and there is no-one better than Pioneer Plant in this area. All aspects of the machine are dealt with so quickly – we have even had engineers from the company in overnight, their work allowing us to begin work again first thing the next day.”       

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