engcon magazine 2005 edition

Mikko Lyytinen – a well-known name in “I bought a Rolls Royce” – engcon visits Varbergs Schakt Swedish Machine Operating Champion – 25 and already a veteran A whole work team in a single cab – a Danish sensation A genuine Stradivarius – Björn Viken from Trondheim waxes lyrical Page 4 Mikko Lyytinen – a well-known name in Finland Page 6 A Rolls Royce in Varberg – Roger Serholt made his choice back in 1995 Page 7 engcon expands – renovations for 6 million SEK

Page 8 Putting operational safety first – EAG 5 Entreprenad – one of Jämtland’s leaders Page 9 Success in – another Volvo on its way Page 9 Swedish champion – 25 years old 8 and already at the top Page 10 A whole work team in a single cab – an unusual sight in Munke Bjergby of Denmark Page 11 Computer-controlled working speed 9 – proportional control adapts implement functions Page 12 The perfect couple – EC20 + engcon SK stone and scrap handling grab Page 13 Grab gets praise in Finland 12 Page 14 A genuine Stradivarius – dulcet tones from Trondheim

Page 15 Three Gazelle companies 14 – with engcon as a common denominator

engcon nordic ab Box 111 SE-833 22 Strömsund, Tel +46 670-178 00 Fax +46 670-178 28 [email protected] www.engcon.se Official publisher: Sten Strömgren. Production: Syre Reklambyrå. Photography: Sten Strömgren, Ellen Kirkevold, Hydrex and Jocke Prager. Printing: PA Group 2005.

2 | engcon LEADING ARTICLE

A NEW EXCITING YEAR

We are embarking on a new, exciting year. Demand for our will help us achieve our goal of ensuring that customers are products continues to increase, while the expansion of our always satisfied with us. assembly lines and the modernisation of our welding and pro- engcon aims to constantly improve its product quality, inc- cessing department will lead to shorter delivery times, better rease delivery reliability and improve our market and aftermar- service and higher product quality. ket services. Customer feedback is vital in this context, and is In 2004, we won the Dagens Industri newspaper’s Gazelle the strongest driving force behind our constant development. of the Year award for the fifth year running–a feat that only five Please contact one of our capable and friendly staff mem- Swedish companies have previously matched. bers for information on accessories. We also gained ISO 9001 quality certification, which assures the quality of the products we produce and sell. This Örjan Westerlund, CEO

engcon | 3 Mikko Lyytinen

Mikko Lyytinen is chairman of the Finnish Central Association of Earth Moving Contractors (SML). His name is sure to be familiar to most Finnish contractors.

During his first four years as a local chairman of SML, renovation site of Kuopio’s sports arena, which is being Mikko Lyytinen has helped promote several central issues thoroughly revamped with new spectator stands and chan- that will have benefited many Finnish contractors. ging rooms. “The issue we have pressed the hardest was the set- Arto Leppänen operates one of Mikko’s at ting up of a discussion forum with the city of Kuopio to the site – a Volvo EW230 fitted with an engcon EC20 discuss technical issues and problems once or twice a tiltrotator. year. We now have the same forum in both Isalmi and Varkaus,” states Mikko matter-of- FITTED WITH A TILTROTATOR factly. “Because my machines have tiltrotators, we save plenty of Perhaps this level-headed, our own material when refilling the foundation area,” says humble attitude has contributed Mikko. He points out how smoothly Arto manoeuvres the to Mikko’s success as a private bucket along the ground and distributes the shingle in enterpriser alongside his suc- exactly the right places without unnecessary spillage. cessful work as chairman. We go into town for a coffee, and see another of his excavators right beside the café. The operator, Sami PRIVATE ENTERPRISER Makkonen, is using a Hitachi Zaxis EW160W for excava- Alongside his work as chairman, tion and insulation work at the entrance of a large housing Mikko Lyytinen runs his own con- area. The rotating, tiling motion of engcon’s tiltrotator struction company, enables Sami to use the excavator to transport supporting Maanrakennuspalvelu Mikko bearings around the wells and up to the steps. Lyytinen Oy. Since 1980, the business has grown from a one- INCREASED PROFITABILITY man enterprise to a company with 30 employees. 90% of The two workers shovelling the gravel over the last stretch Mikko’s jobs are turnkey contracts in the Kuopio area, have an easy task. They cheerfully tell us that there will be where all the company’s activities are based. The compa- no excavators without tiltrotators at their workplaces in the ny’s machinery stock comprises eight excavators, all of future. Mikko is also pleased. He points out how the wor- them fitted with an engcon tiltrotator. kers are saving material, automatically raising the profitabi- “I began my career with an Åkerman H12,” says Mikko lity of the overall project. proudly. He is standing with two of his excavators at the

“Because my machines have tiltrotators, we save plenty of our own material when refilling the foundation area,” says Mikko.

4 | engcon Excavation and insulation work at the entrance of one of Kuopio’s major housing areas. Sami Makkonen, one of Mikko’s employees, is operating a Hitachi Zaxis EW160W.

Kuopio’s sports arena is being thoroughly revamped with new spectator stands and changing rooms. Arto Leppänen operates one of Mikko’s excavators at the site.

engcon | 5 “I BOUGHT A ROLLS ROYCE”

Roger Serholt owns and runs the family company Varbergs Schakt AB along with his wife Margareta and their children Henrik, Rickard and Frida. They do all types of earth moving operations. Major customers include PEAB and the Swedish National Road Administration (Vägverket).

Roger founded the company in 1978, after previously wor- less “ordinary” buckets are all collected here. All the king as a wheel loader operator at Horreds Bygg. He star- machines have the engcon RF20 hitch, which is compatib- ted off with a Poclain 60P wheeled excavators. Today, his le with all wheeled excavators. machinery stock includes three CAT wheeled excavators (312, 313 & 315) and a CAT 303 crawler excavator, all fit- PROVIDING COMPLETE SOLUTIONS ted with engcon tiltrotators. He also has a Case 850 bull- “This machinery is our greatest strength, along with our dozer, a Volvo L30 wheel loader and 2 Scania tippers. capable operators. We don’t just sell a pit – we provide customers with complete solutions. When we’ve comple- THE PERFECT CHOICE ted a contract, we’ve done the job from beginning to end,” “When I bought my first engcon tiltrotator in 1995, I chose says Roger. a Rolls Royce. I’ve never used anything but engcon since. “We have a fabulous, highly dedicated team, and Engcon’s equipment was the perfect choice, and has sometimes arrange surprise events to show our apprecia- never given us any problems,” says Roger, who also has tion. One of the most popular events was a visit to the an engcon compactor pulse. CAT demo centre in Malaga,” says Roger. Varbergs Schakt is well known for solving any type of The phones ring constantly during engcon’s visit in task, and a quick glance behind the office shows you why. Varberg. As we leave, Roger is loading a CAT wheel exca- Screeding beams, plough blades, several types of profiled vator onto a trailer destined for a new project that’s just bucket, a rotary cultivator, single-arm saw blades, a cable come in. plough, a levelling bucket with two openings and count-

“This machinery is our gre- atest strength, along with our capable operators.”

6 | engcon engcon’s rapid expansion – a six million SEK renovation project

Over the last year, engcon has expan- “The renovations will cost almost ded both its size and its sales. 6 million SEK, and are expected to To provide the necessary capacity provide sufficient capacity for our bud- for its planned growth, the company’s geted expansion,” continues premises, which currently cover 3,800 Westerlund. m2, will be extended by a further The renovation will also lead to 1,500 m2. The whole welding and increased delivery reliability and higher processing department will move to quality. separate premises, and the assembly The company has been awarded lines in the existing facilities will be the Dagens Industri newspaper’s significantly extended. Gazelle of the Year Prize for the fifth “These initiatives are part of our consecutive year – a feat that only five expansion, which shows no signs of Swedish companies have matched in slowing down despite last year’s suc- the past. Engcon’s expansion rate has cesses,” says Örjan Westerlund, eng- averaged 48.3% per year since 1998. con’s CEO. engcon multifunctional tiltrotator Broad, extensive range UNLIMITED ROTATION Our core line includes EC5–EC30 tiltrotators for basic machines of 3 –32 tonnes, 1 EC5R–EC3OR rotators, and integrated grabs for both tiltrotators and rotators. Besides quick hitches in several dimensions and models for various attachments, TILTS UP TO 40° IN TWO DIRECTIONS we also supply tilt couplers, stone grabs, scrap handling grabs and various adap- 2 tor brackets and vibrator plates – all adapted to customer requirements. MACHINE-ADAPTED 3 ATTACHMENT COUPLERS EC05 3–6 tonnes EC10 6–12 tonnes EC15 12–16 tonnes EC20 16–22 tonnes EC30 22–32 tonnes 4 EXTRA HYDRAULIC OUTLET

Like a wrist Tiltrotator engcon’s tiltrotator is compatible with all the market’s excavators and Rotator Rotator Optional Optional Optional EC–R 3–32 tonnes EC20–RI 16–22 tonnes grabber 05 grabber 10 grabber 20 For EC05 For EC10, EC15 For EC15, loaders weighing between 3 and 32 tonnes. The tiltrotator EC20, can be described as a wrist connecting the excavator to the bucket. EC30 An integrated control system offers benefits including unlimited rota- tion and tilting of up to 40° in two directions. Standard features inclu- Rotators/ Optional grabbers de extra outlets and hydraulic, adaptable couplers for buckets, grabs Tilt coupler Tilt coupler Quick hitch Quick hitch Scrap handling TF10–32 TF20–27 18–32 tonnes RF10–32 2–32 tonnes RF20–27 18–32 tonnes grab G10–32 and other attachments, which can be quickly and simply replaced 2–32 tonnes 2–32 tonnes straight from the operator cab. Customer-adapted The tiltrotator’s couplers – both the upper coupler on the stick and Hitches the lower attachment coupler – are manufactured and adapted for all Scrap handling Vibrator plate Stone/Scrap grab G20–27 Pulse 6–32 tonnes handling grab machines on the market today. 18–32 tonnes PP350, PP600, PP950 SK05ST, SK10ST, SK15ST, SK20ST, SK30ST The tiltrotator comes in several models. engcon also offers a broad selection of customer-adapted quick hitches and other attach- ments. The tiltrotator has become a standard product in the

Scandinavian construction and installation industry. Today, almost no Accessories excavators and backhoe loaders weighing less than 30 tonnes are sold in Scandinavia without a tiltrotator

engcon | 7 EAG – a well-respected company

Mats Götesson is a partner in EAG Entreprenad AB together with his brother Mikael and father Rolf. EAG is a well-respected company headquartered in Östersund in central Sweden. The company was founded in 1989 through a merger between two companies that had been operating for 25 and 40 years, respectively.

Today, EAG is one of the largest private companies in Jämtland Municipality providing machinery and transport services combined with construction services. The company specialises in all types of earth moving. Major customers include the Swedish National Road Administration (Vägverket), Skanska, NCC and the Swedish National Railway Administration (Banverket). Today, EAG has roughly 25 employees and sales of approximately SEK 16 m. Besides trucks and wheel loaders, the company has seven excavators in various sizes, several of them equipped with engcon tiltrotators.

STABLE AND RELIABLE “We’re delighted with engcon’s products,” says Mats from the cab of his Hitachi Zaxis 110, which he is starting up for the day. “They’ve never given us any problems and are really stable and reliable.” He is busy making slopes around the roundabout at the Odenskog traffic interchange, which is being renovated with flatter slopes, plant beds and better lighting. “We’re delighted with engcon’s “These changes are mainly aimed at improving traffic safety. The tiltrotator is especially useful for products,” says Mats from the cab of his Hitachi Zaxis 110, which he this type of job – building slopes and installing earth around poles and other objects,” smiles Mats, is starting up for the day. “They’ve never given us any problems and smoothing the ground around a lamp post. are really stable and reliable.”

8 | engcon A Swedish champion

At 25, Tomas Klasson is already an acclaimed machi- ne operator. He has won the Swedish Machine Operating Championships and ranked among the winners of the prestigious international Caterpillar Operators Challenge in Malaga. Despite his age, this quiet young man is famed for his skilful mastery of virtually any machine. “It was incredibly fun to go and compete in Malaga,” says Tomas, whose everyday job is to ope- rate excavators and crawler tractors for Varbergs Schakt. When engcon visited Tomas in late November, he was busy building an anti-noise barrier in central Varberg using the company’s bulldozer Case 850. Tomas usually operates the company’s CAT 313 wheel excavator fitted with an engcon EC20 tiltrotator. “I really love my job and always feel that Roger acknowledges my efforts,” says Tomas who is one of Varberg’s most popular machine operators. “My customers often ring and ask me to send Tomas,” says Roger, while quickly adding that all his employees are excellent workers. Tomas and Roger will also compete in a compa- Tom chooses engcon for ny go-carting cup match, and aim to win the final. his new Volvo.

A brand new Volvo EC 140 BLC with an engcon EC15 stands ready for delivery on Volvo A/S’s yard in Oslo. One of Volvo’s dealers, Albert Krosby, has sold the machine to T. Sauthon Bygg A/S, a family company in Oslo owned by Terje Sauthon and his son Tom Sauthon.

COULD SELL MORE Because Albert is away for Easter, I speak to his colleague Ellen Kirkevold, who is single- handedly selling Volvo construction machines with engcon tiltrotators like hotcakes. “I don’t have much time right now,” says Ellen over the phone, sounding slightly stres- sed. She says the Norwegian market is booming right now, with many new investments following a sharp upswing in housing and road construction. “If I could produce more machines, we would sell even more,” says Ellen, holding the handset by her ear as she photographs the EC 140 for us.

BIGGER EARTH MOVING PROJECTS The customer, Tom Sauthon, tells us that this is the first Volvo excavator he has bought, Trade fairs where engcon but that his company has wide experience of excavators. will participate “We are a long-established construction company with our own earth moving depart- Date Event Place ment,” says Tom, adding that the company’s five excavators are all equipped with tiltrota- 17–19 May SED Milton Keynes, England 26–28 May Maskin-Expo Täby, Sweden tors. 26– 28 May NordCon Jönköping, Sweden “We had sales of over 50 million NOK last year, mainly from construction projects. But 3–5 June Mefa -05 Trondheim, Norway our earth moving activities are steadily growing because we do earth moving contracts for 21–23 June Hillhead Pennine Hills, Manchester, UK other construction companies,” says Tom. 1–4 Sept. Maxpo Helsinki, Finland The company has some 30 employees. Its next contract is an excavation project for a 7–9 Oct. Steinexpo 8–13 Sept. NordBau Germany housing area. This will entail moving approximately 6,000 m3 of earth. engcon’s tiltrotators are sure to come in handy for water and sewage excavation, levelling and other operations requiring precision and flexibility.

engcon | 9 Quality award for equal opportunities

In late 2004, engcon won the EQ-Z-län, Equal Opportunities Award for well-documented efforts to improve its personnel policy and create better work- ing conditions for women and men. The award was designed by the Jämtland County Administrative Board as part of the project Know How – equality, profitability and health in Jämtland Municipality (Know How – jämställdhet, lönsamhet och hälsa i Jämtlands län).

Certifierat ISO 9001 av Certification for engcon

engcon is now certified according to ISO 9001:2000. To gain this certification, we have gradu-

Claus Larsen fits his whole company into his mobile Volvo excavator with a tipper and various ally changed our ordering and manufacturing proces- accessories. ses in recent years. The quality certification demonstrates that the company produces and sells quality-assured pro- A whole work team ducts and constantly promotes customer satisfac- tion. The elements involved in ISO 9001:2000 certifi- cation are: quality management system, management in a single cab responsibility, resource handling, product develop- ment, and measurement, analysis and improvement. It’s a common sight in Sweden. But in Denmark, Claus Larsen “engcon has always prioritised quality, but now Maskinudlejning from Munke Bjergby in central Zealand turns heads our customers have proof that they have chosen the when driving in his mobile Volvo excavator with a tipper. He is a one- right supplier,” explains CEO Örjan Westerlund. “The company needs quality management to deal with its man team working on contract for a major construction company. continued expansion. Many of our customers require this, since they want suppliers to guarantee their own Claus upgraded almost the whole of his company’s machinery stock by buying a Volvo quality according to the required standards,” says EW160B mobile excavator with an engcon tiltrotator, pallet forks and a crane arm and Örjan Westerlund. an 11-tonne earth moving truck with a three-way tip. The machine and its accessories are from Volvo Entreprenørmaskiner A/S.

PERFORMING MORE TASKS ALONE News on the web “In many cases, using a mobile excavator combined with an earth moving truck saves extra machinery and manpower. When I excavate on a site, I can load surplus earth onto Engcon’s new website will soon be launched. Our the truck and drive it away myself, or fetch gravel for the filling work,” explains Claus visitors have often praised our informative, user- Larsen. friendly site. We will build on these qualities, keeping “I’ve used a crawler excavator before, but it’s clumsier and far more costly to trans- the good features while adding new ones. Among other things, we will introduce a web port from site to site. With this mobile machine, I can take all my equipment with me shop selling our popular clothes, accessories and and easily move between building sites.” other goodies. We will set up a discussion forum where users of engcon’s products can exchange PORTABLE EQUIPMENT opinions. There will also be a wide selection of pic- Claus Larsen works for a construction company that has many building sites in Zealand. tures and films. He often moves between sites. You will soon find this and much more at “The excavator drives at 40 km an hour, so transport is no problem. The machine www.engcon.com works well as a “tractor” for the dumper truck, and it’s practical to take all your equip- ment along. I can do an incredible number of tasks at a site using the equipment on the machine. With an engcon tiltrotator and pallet forks, I can move pallets to where the www.engcon.com material is needed and do all types of demolition,” says Claus Larsen.

10 | engcon engcon at the world’s largest trade fair Just over a year ago, engcon exhibited do with a tiltrotator. Computer-controlled at the Bauma construction fair in Engcon’s machine operator, Jocke Munich, Germany. We had our own Prager, wowed spectators with a working speed trade stand, almost 20 of our own Cat308 fitted with aN EC10 tiltrotator staff plus extra hired staff. and integrated grab. Many onlookers engcon recently introduced proportional control in The fair takes place every three stayed for almost an hour, watching connection with the supply of a Hitachi excavator. years, alternating with Conexpo in Las again and again as engcon’s tiltrotator Proportional control of an excavator’s implements Vegas, USA and Intermat in Paris, performed seemingly impossible tasks. increases efficiency and opens many new possibili- France. These are regarded as the The trade fair generated countless ties. For the first time in Denmark, engcon has sup- world’s three biggest construction enquiries, leading to actual deals as fairs. well as contacts that could well lead plied a tiltrotator with built-in proportional control Bauma attracted a staggering to future collaboration and contracts. valves. 416,000 visitors. engcon’s stand was Next on the agenda is Intermat in Proportional control means that the driver uses a roll on the joy- strategically located beside the entran- Paris, where visitors will have a stick to regulate the speed of the tiltrotator’s functions. The tiltro- ce, and was constantly busy as second chance to see the “Swedish tator is installed on a Hitachi ZX210 supplied by H.P crowds flocked to see what you can miracle”. Entreprenørmaskiner to Jan Larsen, a contractor in Skælskør, Denmark. “I exclusively work for MJ. Eriksson constructing golf courses. Several layers must be installed with high precision when con- Hydrex uses engcon structing greens, tee places and bunkers. The tiltrotator allows the material to be pushed and pulled into place instead of moving the Hydrex uses engcon tiltrotators on its railway machinery. Hydrex, which has machine,” explains Jan Larsen. branches throughout the UK, uses engcon to make its machines extra flexible. The tiltrotators are used for jobs inclu- ADAPTED FUNCTIONS ding railway work and clearing of vege- Before proportional control can be installed on a tiltrotator, the tation. machine’s control system must be adapted for it. Rob Brown manages the railway “We collaborate with the supplier during the installation. department at the Sheffield railway divi- Other joysticks are installed and a computer controls the func- sion. tions. The computer can be programmed so that the two joysticks’ “We’ve been using tiltrotators for over a functions are adapted to the individual operators. What’s more, year. They’ve proved an extremely reli- the functions can be programmed with separate working speeds able and popular addition to our machinery stock in Sheffield,” he reports. “Once our customers see them in action, they ask for them again and again.” for individual operators using the same machine,” says engcon’s Danish sales rep Henrik Bolting. “The proportional control can also be connected to other implements used by the tiltrotator. The machines do not automati- cally come equipped for proportional control. It’s vital to collabo- rate closely with the supplier so that the machine’s computer is programmed correctly,” continues Henrik Bolting.

THINKING AHEAD Jan Larsen has gained an entirely new machine. “I bought a Hitachi machine because I believe it’s the most economical option in the long term, with less operating and main- tenance costs and lower fuel consumption. I decided to have the new tiltrotator installed as an investment for the future. It doesn’t leave me more time for working, but I can work more efficiently and do the same job for longer,” says Jan Larsen.

engcon | 11 The perfect couple

When engcon’s reporter began his journey to Trondheim from our main office and factory in Strömsund at 4:30 a.m. on a cold March morning, the sky was blue and the temperature was -22 °C.

After passing Åre, the sky clouded over. Near the Ole P Bakken has five employees, and its machinery stock Swedish-Norwegian border, a snow storm broke out with also includes an engcon-equipped Hitachi ZX 225, two driving snow and zero visibility. trucks and two wheel loaders. As I rolled down the hills towards Stjördal, the weather cleared. The temperature was minus two degrees, and EASE AND PRECISION brilliant sunshine greeted me in Trondheim, where there Although Hans is not using his machine and the site today, was virtually no snow. he swings up into the cab to show how pleased he is with The first warm smile of the day his well-equipped machine. came from Arve Öksnäs, an after Hans starts picking up large blocks of stone from a market sales rep at the Komatsu pile beside the building area. He quickly places the stones importer Hesselberg, who was in a row, deftly manoeuvring his tiltrotator and grab with there to help me find the contrac- gentle, precise movements. tors I was to visit during the day. “I’m absolutely delighted with this combination. It’s unbeatable in many situations. The proportional control TOWARDS CENTRAL TRONDHEIM system means I can operate with precision,” says Hans, After a quick coffee break, we visited a building site near who mainly works with excavators in the company. central Trondheim, where we had an appointment with I ask if engcon’s products come in handy in other situ- Hans Skogaas. Hans operates a Zaxis 200 LC fitted with ations. a proportionally controlled EC20 and an engcon SK stone “All the time! There’s actually no job I would do without and scrap handling grab for his employer, Ole P Bakken. a tiltrotator. They’re fabulous for everything,” says Hans, Ole P Bakken is a 40 year-old company with its own who has worked for the company for four years. gravel pit. One of its major clients is the local waterworks.

For Hans Skogaas, engcon’s proportionally controlled tiltrotator and engcon’s stone and scrap handling grab are a perfect combination.

12 | engcon Counting on better profits

Mario Kevekordes is already counting Among other things, the company up the profits as he climbs out of his uses engcon's grab for demolition CAT 325 BLN. Mario owns and runs and sorting of rubble from brick walls. Ilmo, a German company with nine Mario Kevekordes also has demolition employees. He always participates in crushers and hydraulic hammers, and the work at his sites, and is a real vir- has realised the benefits of making full tuoso at using all his excavators’ use of the excavator. “I can’t imagine being without my stone and scrap handling grab for a single implements. day,” says Vesa-Matti Koivunen, who operates the company’s M318. Mario supervises the work and NO LIMITS operates the machines himself. This “The tiltrotator has lead to huge has given him important insight into savings in terms of both time and fuel. the financial benefits of having a large It’s also reduced wear on the excava- Finnish praise for programme of attachments for his tor by eliminating the need for unne- engcon’s SK grabs machines. cessary moving around,” says Mario. “There’s almost no limit to an eng- Jari Björkskog runs the construction company J Björkskog ENORMOUS BENEFITS con tiltrotator’s uses,” he adds. Jordbyggnad in Vasa, Finland with his wife Lise-Lot. They mainly per- Mario bought his first engcon tiltrota- “What’s more, engcon is very custo- form ground moving operations using four of their own excavators. tor two years ago. At the time, he saw mer-oriented. My suggestions for Jari operates one of them. great benefits in buying implements improvements were passed straight to The excavators, which are fitted with engcon tiltrotators and an for his excavators engaged in channel the design department and applied SK20 grab, have recently begun operation. The company also has a construction. This purchase proved a when engcon’s tiltrotators were furt- Scania 143, operated by Jari’s wife, plus two other trucks. The com- vital step in the company’s develop- her developed. It’s important to choo- pany has 3–7 employees, and had sales of EUR 380,000 in 2003. ment by making his excavator far se a good partner like engcon,” con- more versatile, while enabling it to dig cludes Mario Kevekordes. IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT A TILTROTATOR in places that were previously inac- Korsholm Municipality is one of Jari’s many customers. When engcon cessible. What’s more, the company visited one of the company’s sites on the outskirts of Vasa, we spoke saved enormously on manual work. to machine operator Vesa-Matti. He is currently doing a refill opera- “Our costs have dropped signifi- tion for a row of garages in a housing estate currently sprouting out cantly since we bought engcon’s of the Finnish ground. tiltrotator,” says Mario. He climbs into “We are at the refilling and adjustment stage. engcon’s tiltrotator a Cat 130 and demonstrates how really comes in handy here,” says Vesa-Matti. “Without the tiltrotator, easily he can pick a large stone off it would be really hard, perhaps even impossible, to do the adjust- the road with his engcon stone and ments without having extra staff with shovels and rakes working scrap handling grab. round the machine.”

NEW GRAB A GREAT INVESTMENT “Since Vesa-Matti got his new SK20 stone and scrap handling grab with a tiltrotator, he can hardly imagine life without this combination,” says Jari, adding that engcon’s new grab is a great investment. Thanks to the tiltrotator, he can operate the stone and scrap hand- ling grab with millimetre precision, only picking up exactly what’s necessary. J Björkskog Jordbyggnad also uses the grab for waste handling and sorting work at Vasa Municipality’s dumping facilities.

Thanks to engcon's tiltrotator, Mario Kevekordes can count on improved profits.

engcon | 13 A genuine Stradivarius

At the hospital construction site in Trondheim, we find Roger Viken manoeuvring a Fiat Kobelco E 200 SR fitted with an EC20 and an engcon RF20 implement coupler.

Roger is excavating and filling in a cable channel along a hours behind it, and Roger is delighted with its reliability. side street outside the construction site. Roger owns the “A few thousand hours ago, we had to tighten a nut on the machine with his father Henrik, his brothers Terje and tilt cylinder,” he reports, smiling broadly. Björn and his mother Astrid. They jointly run Henrik Viken Henrik Viken AS was started in 1952 by Henrik Viken, AS, a respected family company whose main clients who previously transported timber with his Fergusson. include the large Norwegian construction companies Besides the FK E 200 that Roger is using, the company Renertsen Anlegg and Sörbestad. now has a Volvo EW140 with an EC20. Despite having done 8,500 operation hours, the swivel seals and tilt axles MINIMUM SPILLAGE have only had to be replaced once. They also have a Roger spreads a protective layer of Hitachi EX60 fitted with an EC10, purchased last year, an sand over the cable in the narrow lane. EX60 with an old rotator model, and a Volvo 3-axle tipper. The excavator without an overhang com- “Operating the EX60 with an EC10 is like playing a bined with the tiltrotator is a handy com- Stradivarius.” bination. Roger can rotate the bucket The three brothers repeatedly stress how pleased they and distribute the material exactly where are with Uddeholm, where they bought all their engcon he wants it, thus minimising wastage. products. “We have seen how important it is “Uddeholm has enormous expertise and a great after- for the bucket roof to have the correct angle,” says Roger. market organisation,” the three brothers agree in chorus. When the brothers order their new buckets, they make Uddeholm also supplied the company’s vibratory soil com- sure the bucket angle fits their engcon tiltrotators. pactor, an engcon PP600. “If the angle is too steep, the bucket angle is com- “We have used our PP600 a lot. I remember when we pletely wrong for certain jobs, making it hard to fully utilise drove it a bit too close to a building on a construction site. the tiltrotator’s properties,” says Roger. Terje tells us that The windows broke!” recalls Terje over a cup of coffee at they build their tools around the tiltrotator. his parents’ farm at the end of the day. The farm also provides the company with a base and a HIGH OPERATIONAL RELIABILITY place to store the machinery. The EC20 attached to the machine has 7,600 operation

BrödernaThe Viken Björn,brothers, Terje Björn, och TerjeRoger and Viken Roger, är helnöjda are delighted med sin with EC20 their ochEC20 redskapsfäste and the RF20 RF20 implement som nu coupler, gått 7600 which problemfria has 7,600 timmar. trouble-free ope- Härration utförs hours grävning behind ochit. Here återfyllning they dig av and kabel fill inlängs a cable en sidogatachannel inutanför a side sjukhusbygget street outside ithe Trondheim. hospital building site in Trondheim.

14 | engcon Constant Three Gazelles with engcon development as a common denominator

“We are constantly developing our products,” says engcon’s chief designer John Lundqvist, who took over from Johan Johansson in 2004 when Johan went to work for our parent company engcon Holding AB. John is partly referring to the ongoing feedback we receive from customers, which helps us constant- ly raise our technical and quality standards. Among other things, this feedback led to a thor- ough upgrade of our bestseller, the EC20.

The EC20 has been upgraded as follows: Stronger frame, lockable tilt axle lever, 5-valve block and 6-channel swivel as standard, option of upgrad- ing to a high-flow version, improved maintenance Stig Engström, engcon, Ulf Nilsson, Markentreprenader and Håkan Torén, Toréns prove you can run a access, better adapted for proportional control. profitable construction business in inland Norrland. What’s more, the EC05 has been upgraded with an improved tubing system and better protection for Toréns in Östersund, Markentreprenader in The third gazelle is Ulf Nilsson, CEO of the cable and connectors. Offerdal and engcon in Strömsund are Markentreprenader, a company based in “Most of our customers don’t notice the three of the five companies awarded the Änge, Offerdal. He has built up the busi- upgrades because they usually consist of small title Gazelle of the Year in Jämtland Muni- ness over many years ongoing changes,” says John. Today, he employs four cipality. All three are construction con- with the help of his father design engineers and two staff members who do tractors with engcon as a Kalle, his brother Tomas the practical construction. common denominator. and the company’s engcon’s design engineers Toréns has roughly employees. draw everything in 3D and have 50 employees and turned The company has been using the Inventor design pro- over about SEK 80 milli- annual sales of about gramme for two years. on in 2004. Håkan 35–40 million SEK and employs about 20 Besides this, they also pre- Torén radiates optimism people. They work the company’s 20 pare drawing changes and and energy while telling us how he machines, which include 13 excavators – exploded drawings for struggled to achieve his current position. many fitted with engcon tiltrotators. workshop manuals. “It hasn’t all been plain sailing. About “We have always focused on taking all-in eight years ago, the business was very lac- contracts. Many of these are railway pro- klustre with low profitability. Then I landed a jects requiring special expertise and qualifi- major contract and everything changed,” cations that we have in our workforce,” says recalls Håkan Torén. Ulf. This is one of the keys to the compa- “Everyone has their setbacks. But if you’- ny’s success. re determined to succeed and believe in One of the company’s larger projects yourself and your goods or services, you’ll was the mainline railway between Krokom get there sooner or later,” and Sundsvall, which generated work for says Stig Engström, about 18 months. Earlier big projects have CEO of engcon Holding included work for Åreliftarna and various AB, who has built up road construction contracts. engcon since its birth in Another thing these three gazelles have 1990. “I think most suc- in common is low staff turnover. They are all cessful contractors have popular employers and well-respected ent- suffered various setbacks. But as we know, repreneurs. fighting makes you tough,” says Stig with a “And I’ve never seen an elite league twinkle. sports team win for 15 consecutive years Stig Engström has been named Gazelle with the same team members,” says Håkan of the Year five years running, something Torén with a hearty laugh. only five companies in Sweden have ever achieved.

Dagens Industri chooses the Gazelle of the Year. Winners must meet certain criteria. These include doubled sales over the past three years, increased organic growth and healthy finances.

engcon | 15 engcon in Europe Certifierat ISO 9001 av engcon nordic ab, tel: +46 (670) 178 00, fax: +46 (670) 178 28 engcon Finland, tel: +358 (50) 553 09 82, +358 (40) 554 8735 fax: +358 (63) 222 905 engcon Denmark, tel +45 (20) 20 35 84, fax: +45 (64) 79 21 10 engcon guarantees quali- engcon Germany, tel +49 (33) 75 218 833, +49 (176) 212 589 06, fax: +49 (33) 75 218 835 ty for your machinery. engcon UK, tel +44–2476 456 401, +44 (797) 191 2546, fax: +44–2476 651 461

Our products are also available in Norway, The , Belgium, Italy and Ireland through our importers.

For further information on our outlets, visit www.engcon.com Engcon’s products are sold by most brand retailers selling excavators and many implement dealers.

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engcon Nordic ab • Box 111, SE-833 22 Strömsund, Sweden • Tel: +46 (670) 178 00 • Fax: +46 (670) 178 28 [email protected] • www.engcon.se