Big bucket business for Miller UK

HITACHI Construction Machinery Europe (HCME) have chosen Miller UK Ltd to produce a new bucket for their 550-tonne EX5500 backhoe excavator.

Weighing approximately 31 tonnes and measuring 4.25m wide x 4.1m tall x 4.5m deep, with a 300mm thick cutting edge, the new design is the largest bucket ever made by Northumberland-based Miller UK, so much so that the company have had to source nearby premises with sufficient height and crane capacity to accommodate it.

HCME have placed an order for 10 of the 29m3 capacity EX5500 buckets, as well as two 23m3 capacity buckets for 360-tonne Hitachi EX3600 backhoe excavators.

Both bucket designs are destined for opencast operations in Spain.