by Clay Eubanks
We are living in an exciting time where technology is continuously evolving. All of the information we can digest is right there at our fingertips wherever and whenever. At Takeuchi, we embrace technology and understand how it can completely change the way we operate for the better.
Takeuchi has always been synonymous with innovation and finding the right solutions for customers at the right time. Recently, we have made some great technological advances that impact our product lines. These include telematics, our first hybrid excavator and a “green” machine.
Takeuchi Fleet Management
Today, fleet owners are able to run their equipment better than ever with the help of telematics. This technology notes and reports data on the performance and operation of the construction equipment you want to track.
At Takeuchi, we understand how vital it is on the jobsite for your machines to be operating at peak performance. Having the full details of every machine in your fleet updated automatically to one location is a game changer. With our ongoing efforts to serve our customers better, we implemented our own version of telematics — Takeuchi Fleet Management (TFM) — for our lineup of excavators and track loaders.
TFM is an exciting addition to our lineup and includes two years of standard service on new machines. This hardware provides equipment owners a greater capacity to maximize profitability, reduce downtime and improve efficiency.
Running with Hybrids
In addition to telematics, Takeuchi is chartering into new territories with hybrid and green technology. During this year’s trade show season, we introduced two new excavators: the TB216H hybrid and a fully electric e240 excavator. These machines are not only less expensive to operate than the standard diesel models, but are also emissions friendly.
The TB216H gives our customers a product that features dual-power options to work in a broader range of applications from outdoors to indoors. It features an electric motor, which offers 100-percent emission-free operation, and a diesel engine with its own pump group to power the machine’s hydraulics.
We engineered this to be user-friendly by making the controls the same regardless of operating mode selected to power the machine. This makes it an easier transition for an operator coming off a strictly diesel-powered excavator.
Despite being a hybrid, there is no drop-off in performance from the diesel machine. The TB216H is a versatile and durable option that eliminates the need for a customer to buy a separate machine to work indoors or in emission-free environments.
The Green Machine
With zero emissions, we were able to operate the e240 excavator inside our booth each hour throughout this year’s CONEXPO-CON/AGG. It was a crowd pleaser as our own Lee Padgett discussed the many benefits of the machine, including the fact that it is 90 percent less expensive to operate than a diesel.
In addition to being emissions free, the machine uses zero fossil fuels and produces zero greenhouse gases during operation. The e240 is also incredibly quiet — the Proprietary Lithium WhisperDrive™ powertrain creates 50 percent less noise than a diesel. The lithium-ion battery offers a nine-hour run time at 65 percent load and can charge from empty to full in 10 hours.
This machine is not available on the market yet, but we will be performing evaluations on it this coming fall with plans to produce them at our home office in Japan.
Here at Takeuchi, this is just the start. We will continue to push the envelope for years to come.
—Clay Eubanks, president of Takeuchi-US