Malcolm Construction has taken delivery of the first Wacker Neuson EW100 in the UK... and may finally have ended the search for a wheeled excavator capable of meeting its expectations.

The highly-specified 10-tonner rolled into the Glasgow yard last week and after being wrapped in the distinctive Malcolm livery rolled back out again to be transported to the Borders Rail project where it’s going on long-term hire to contractor BAM Nuttall.

Malcolm has been keen for some time to introduce a wheeled excavator in that weight category to the fleet. Plant Director Darren Gilmour explained: “We’ve always felt there was a gap in the market for a machine of this type.”

That was the cue for John Young at dealer Hamilton Bros. to step in and offer the new EW100 on demo. “We’d already heard good things about Wacker Neuson equipment and how it was gathering momentum in the UK,” said Darren. “We did a bit of research and it looked like this machine could be what we were looking for.”

That initial confidence was borne out over the demanding six-week demo period. “We liked its power, stability and versatility,” said Darren. “On roadworks, for example, it’ll easily get into spaces a 14-tonner won’t.”

Wacker Neuson promotes the EW100 as “the ultimate urban excavator” but Darren Gilmour and workshop foreman John McManus still wanted changes in the shape of a series of options and bespoke additions that would further increase the machine’s performance capabilities. Those changes mean the EW100 going to the Borders Rail project is in triple boom configuration and features all-wheel steer, rear stabiliser legs and a Powertilt coupler from Exac-One Ltd. The coupler is an exception to Malcolm’s standard of Miller quick hitches and buckets carrying Esco teeth.

“This machine has been sought after for some time by BAM Nuttall and they have a number of applications where they think it will be perfect,” Darren told Scottish Plant

The sale has been welcomed as a major coup at Hamilton Bros. which has been a Wacker Neuson dealer since 2001 and is one of three covering Scotland. John Young, Hamilton’s construction area sales manager based at Tarbolton, said: “Exposure doesn’t get any bigger than this. To achieve the first sale in the UK for the EW100 is a landmark for us and to sell it to a company of the stature of Malcolm Construction says a lot about the quality of the Wacker Neuson products.”

It also reinforces the growing reputation in the UK of the German manufacturer. Hamilton Bros. is enjoying sales boom across the portfolio of compact equipment, most notably on cabbed dumpers, with customers ranging from one-man businesses to plant hirers and groundworks contractors.

The Perkins-engined EW100 is covered by a four-year/6,000 hour warranty and Darren Gilmour fully expects it to earn its keep during that time. “This is a machine that will always be out working.”

This article was taken from Scottish Plant and can be viewed online at
www.scottishplant.co.uk/excavator-is-the-wheel-deal-for-malcolm-construction/