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Steelwrist celebrates 20 years of commitment to excavator efficiency

Steelwrist was founded in Sweden 2005, first setting up a shop in a garage north of Stockholm. The company has since then grown from a small newcomer to the global leader it is today and has delivered products to thousands of customers worldwide over the last 20 years. The focus remains the same as when the company was founded; to develop, manufacture and sell tiltrotators, quick couplers and work tools that make excavators more efficient. 2025 marks 20 years in business for Steelwrist, which will be highlighted throughout the year, alongside the introduction of several significant product news.

The tiltrotator has proven to be the key that truly unlocks the efficiency of an excavator, and it is the centrepiece in the Steelwrist offering. With endless rotation and 45 degrees tilt in both directions, the tiltrotator allows the operator to do more types of jobs, be faster and work with greater precision.

If you ask the excavator operators their opinion, they will tell you they would never go back to working without. In fact, in Steelwrist’s 20-year history, we are not aware of one single customer who adopted the tiltrotator concept and then returned to working without.

The transformation of an excavator into a true tool carrier significantly boosts worksite efficiency and safety. By reducing costs and enabling more tasks to be completed directly from the cab, the need for ground personnel is reduced, making operations smoother and safer. Fewer machine movements mean saving time, reducing fuel consumption, lowering machine wear, and further enhancing safety – a compelling advantage for any operator.

The tiltrotator concept is deeply rooted in the Nordic region, widely regarded as the world’s most advanced excavator market where contractors and operators are highly motivated to adopt and invest in cutting-edge products and technologies. Positioned at the heart of this innovation-driven market, tiltrotator manufacturers thrive in a dynamic environment that fosters product development and promotes healthy competition.

Steelwrist introduced its first tiltrotator, the X18, in 2006, and the early years saw an expansion of the sales organization to the important Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. A true milestone was reached in 2011, when the company launched the X07 model for compact excavators, the world’s first fully steel cast tiltrotator. Steel cast components make it possible to minimize the weight and at the same time increase the strength, and the use of high-tensile steel casting has been a cornerstone in the design of the couplers and tiltrotators ever since.

Safety has always been a core focus for Steelwrist. In 2012, the company became the industry pioneer by introducing the patented Front Pin Lock in its couplers, setting a new standard for operational safety. Today, Steelwrist offers a comprehensive tiltrotator range for excavators weighing from 1.5 to 33 tonnes.

In 2024, the third-generation tiltrotators were launched, marking a major advancement in tiltrotator technology with the introduction of several new key features. The XTR20, the first model in Steelwrist’s third-generation tiltrotator lineup, features steel cast components throughout, including the upper coupler, gearbox, and the lower coupler beneath the tiltrotator. Building on Steelwrist’s renowned tilt geometry, the XTR20 delivers an even smoother and more refined user experience for operators. Also maintenance and lubrication have been made considerably easier with the introduction of OptiLube, a built-in onboard system for automatic lubrication, ensuring consistent and optimal performance.

In terms of safety, the new generation marks a major advancement in solutions for secure work tool changes on excavators. The XTR20 is equipped with Steelwrist’s patented wireless LockSense technology—a cutting-edge, sensor-based system that provides real-time confirmation of whether the work tool is securely locked during coupling.

Steelwrist has established a strong presence in Europe and expanded into the North American market in 2017, where the tiltrotator concept has gained significant traction. To support the rapidly growing demand, Steelwrist relocated to larger facilities in Newington, CT, in 2024. Meanwhile, interest in tiltrotators is steadily increasing in the Asia-Pacific region as the efficiency and productivity benefits become increasingly apparent.

Participating in exhibitions has been, and continues to be, very important for Steelwrist to promote the tiltrotator concept in markets where it is not yet widely established. These events provide an excellent platform to showcase the tiltrotator’s functions through live demonstrations. In 2024, Steelwrist had a busy schedule with numerous exhibitions worldwide, culminating in a successful year-end finale at Bauma China in Shanghai.

“During my 20 years developing our Steelwrist product portfolio we have continuously been at the forefront of our industry. Our innovations have resulted in products that are safer and more productive for the excavator operator. With a combined focus on hardware as well as software we have made the tiltrotator become an integrated part of the excavator. I look forward to 2025 with confidence, presenting our latest developments”, says Markus Nilsson, CTO and co-founder of Steelwrist.

The new tiltrotators, as well as all other Steelwrist products, are available with interfaces following the symmetrical standard (S standard), which is the fastest growing standard internationally. Thanks to their modular design, products can be easily upgraded from the S-type to the SQ-type interface.

Introduced in 2017, Steelwrist’s SQ technology enables operators to switch between hydraulic-powered work tools in just seconds — without ever leaving the cab. This high-performance automatic oil connection technology offers exceptional flow capacity with minimal back-pressure, making it ideal for even the most demanding hydraulic work tools and applications across the industry.

In the process of developing the SQ products the idea of presenting an open interface for automatic quick couplers was born. The advantage of avoiding a proprietary solution is clear: it frees customers from being tied to a single manufacturer’s system. This vision became a reality at the end of 2020 when Steelwrist and Rototilt founded the Open-S Alliance, an independent organization dedicated to developing a global industry standard for automatic couplers for excavators. The ambition is to give machine operators and contractors the freedom to combine quick couplers, tiltrotators and work tools from different manufacturers that follow the standard. Today the organization has 14 members, both attachment manufacturers and global OEMs. All Steelwrist SQ products follow the Open-S standard for automatic couplers for excavators.

“Open-S is all about delivering benefits to contractors and machine operators. The goal of the standard is to make it possible to freely choose between and mix different brands of products, without losing any functionality, safety features or the warranty, and not be locked into a proprietary solution that limits options. This idea made us take the initiative to start the work to build an international and open industry standard five years ago”, says Stefan Stockhaus, CEO of Steelwrist AB and Board Member of the Open-S Alliance.

Over the past 20 years, Steelwrist has significantly expanded its product portfolio, organizational structure, and global presence, solidifying the position as a market leader in the industry. The journey of innovation continues, and in 2025, the company is set to launch several new products, all designed to further enhance the productivity and efficiency of excavators.

First, the XTR20 will be followed by two new models, the XTR15 and the XTR23, within the third generation of Steelwrist tiltrotators. These new models come with all the features that were presented when the XTR20 was launched, including OptiLube and LockSense. Common for all models is that they are easily upgradeable from S to SQ.

Secondly, Steelwrist will extend its SQ technology to excavators below 6 tonnes with the introduction of the SQ40 coupler. The SQ40 enables quick and effortless changes of high-flow-powered work tools for smaller excavators, offering the same efficiency and convenience as the larger SQ coupler sizes. The SQ40 will be complemented by a range of powered work tools specifically optimized for this interface. Additionally, thanks to the innovative design of the new coupler, all S40 products can be upgraded to the SQ-type, providing enhanced versatility and performance.

All new products will be shown in the Steelwrist stand at the Bauma exhibition in Munich, April 7-13, 2025.

“I am extremely proud of what our team has accomplished since Steelwrist was founded, and the 20 year anniversary will be highlighted throughout 2025. I have myself been running the SQ40 size for over a year on my own excavator and I am really looking forward to presenting the SQ40 solution which will bring efficiency to new levels also for the smaller excavators”, says Stefan Stockhaus, CEO and co-founder of Steelwrist.

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