Hillhead triumph for Hill Engineering
Mega deals done at the show and new TiltRotate unit goes down a storm with visitors
As well as celebrating their 20th anniversary at Hillhead 2014, Hill Engineering launched two new products at the show – the new TEFRA Tilt Coupler and the new TiltRotate, which made its world-debut at the event. The stand was exceptionally busy with some significant deals being closed across all three days. Hill reported that customer feedback was exceptional, with more than 40% of enquiries being for the new TEFRA Tilt and TiltRotate (pictured).
Hill sold one TEFRA Tilt to RJ McKelvey building and civil engineering contractors based in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and are also close to sealing several deals with plant hire and sports turf companies.
The new TiltRotate was not for sale at the show, but Hill received seven requests for demonstrations of this unit once it becomes available. Mike Roby, Hill Engineering’s sales director, said: ‘The TiltRotate proved very popular, and once we have completed more field testing, we should enter this market with some momentum following the show.’
He added: ‘Hillhead was an excellent show for us and we noticed a real step change in confidence from two years ago. People are now willing to make that commitment on large fleet deals whereas two years ago they may have held back.’
With regard to deals done, Hather Plant Hire bought 25 TEFRA couplers to go with a deal worth more than £1 million with Case, Caterpillar and Kubota; Cautrac completed a deal for 10 TEFRA couplers for their Cat 308E models; and civil engineering company D. Morgan concluded a deal for £3.5 million of new equipment and specified the award-winning Hill TEFRA hitch and buckets on all their excavators.
The new TEFRA Tilt coupler product takes all the advantages of the award-winning TEFRA coupler but provides the added benefit of increased productivity and versatility in multiple applications. The attachment will be available for machines sizes ranging from 7 to 55 tonnes and, like the TEFRA coupler, has been specifically designed to be almost maintenance free. It is also fully compliant with the proposed new global safety standard ISO 13031 expected later this year.
The heavy-duty motor is self-lubricating and there is no requirement to grease the tilt mechanism. In addition, Hill have reduced potential wear items so users have peace of mind regarding any wear on pins or bushes.
The new TEFRA Tilt coupler also boasts advance technology from German manufacturers HKS. The magic behind Hill’s new attachment is said to be the XtraTilt power actuator. The robust design of the individual components of the XtraTilt, made from high-strength, surface-hardened materials, allows rotation almost without play, even after prolonged operation.
The swivel mechanism of the Power Actuators is based on the coarse-thread principle. The linear movement of the piston, when pressure is applied, is converted by multiple opposing coarse threads on the housing, piston and shaft to achieve a powerful rotary movement. If the hydraulic circuit is closed by the adjusting valve, which at the same time prevents movement of the piston and shaft, the attached coupler will remain in any required working position.
The new TiltRotate system supports hydraulic excavators with two new functions. The shovel is able to rotate continually and can tilt up to 110° (55° in both directions) allowing the operator to open up new areas of operation. Maximum benefit can be derived from this new attachment in applications such as track laying, because the freedom of movement of two-way excavators is very limited.
Hill also report that a major technical advantage which the TiltRotate offers, compared with other manufacturers, is its cylinder-less construction; the compact XtraTilt power actuator replacing the wider cylinder variant, which is liable to faults, with a maximum +45° tilt angle.
