CONTENTS
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
55 DETECTION WORK
Orlaco’s cameras are at the heart of
future construction
56 SIZE DOWN, POWER UP
A new engine from Caterpillar
increases power and torque
57 SUCCESSFUL INVERSION
Curtiss-Wright’s new inversion
series is state-of-the-art
p56 p58 p61
FOREWORD
58 WINNING COMBINATION
Diesel and electric can coexist, says
John Deere Power Systems
59 SMALL ENGINE, BIG OUTPUT
Perkins’ new engine offers excellent
torque in a small package
60 BETTER INFORMED
Kohler’s app helps monitor and
maintain their engines
61 BEATING THE HEAT
Overheating issues are resolved with
Horton’s efficient fans
62 STAYING CONNECTED
Cobo’s InTouch platform utilises IoT to
keep everything connected
4
Back in May 2017 I had the honour of attending the unveiling
of Volvo CE’s 100% electric compact excavator prototype, the
EX2, which took place at the OEM’s Innovation Summit in London.
Back then an electric excavator of any type was virtually unheard of,
let alone one that did away with hydraulics completely. But just two
short years later, at Bauma 2019, virtually every OEM worth its salt
had an electric mini excavator prototype on its stand, although as
real-world deployment is planned, traditional hydraulics is still the
solution of choice. And where was Volvo CE in this picture? The
answer was, of course, very much ahead of the curve, unveiling in
Munich not only a production-ready excavator – the ECR25 Electric
– but also an electric wheel loader, the L25 Electric. The OEM also
made an announcement prior to the ‘big reveal’ that these machines
were just the first in a new range. An electric line-up that would
completely replace the diesel equivalents currently manufactured
(you can read more about them from page 18)
If the time it took for Volvo CE to go from its first public
announcement of a prototype to a new vehicle range seems short, it’s
worth considering that history has taught us that when a new
technology of any type takes hold, the early stages of development see
the rate of change speed up, rather than slow down. It’s perhaps a fact
that was on Volvo CE president Melker Jernberg’s mind when I met
him and he alluded to the risk of sleepless nights around his
company’s electrification program. Not only must OEMs grapple with
the development of new technology, they must also be aware that this
is an increasingly competitive marketplace – one that, as the pages of
this magazine, our first ever Electric Issue, prove, is becoming more
crowded with each passing month. Nevertheless Jernberg is cool,
calm and friendly. It was a pleasure to interview him for a second
time for iVT – you can read more on page 14.
If we’ve come this far, where will off-highway electrification be in
another two years? In 2017 many said the EX2 was a pipe dream years
away from production. And yet now many like it are available to
order. Today, projects that seek to electrify larger machines are
likewise seen as distant dreams. Could it be that in two years’ time
many of the barriers that currently stand in the way of larger scale
electrification will have been broken through? Only time will tell.
What we can be certain of is that, even if full electrification
continues to present challenges, hybrid systems will be able to step
in and plug the gaps that pure electric
can’t fill. New hybrid powertrain
solutions are also rapidly coming to
market. You can read about some of the
new ones from page 30.
With so much rapid change, I’m
already looking forward to our Electric
Issue 2020 – in the next 12 months, it
feels like almost anything could happen.
Tom Stone, editor
Coming up in the February 2020 issue of iVT
SPECIAL CONEXPO 2020 PREVIEW EDITION: As the industry prepares for Las Vegas we give you the
indispensable guide to the USA’s largest construction machinery show
iVTInternational.com November 2019
/iVTInternational.com
