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IN THIS ISSUE:
LEADING ARTICLE: Thank you for helping us win.
PAGE 2
Tiltrotator convinces Polish contractor.
PAGE 3
engcon’s products tested and verified.
PAGE 4
Simulator takes over training.
PAGE 8
HE SAW THE FUTURE AT THE EXPO
At Batimat 2003, Dennis Marais convinced his boss that he’d seen
the future – in the guise of an engcon tiltrotator. Since then he’s
taken over the company’s construction and installation
operations.PAGE 4
SUCCESS FOR SYSTEM ENGCON
The launch of System engcon – a long-awaited complete line of
buckets and tools compatible with engcon’s other products.PAGE
5
GROWING SUCCESS IN DENMARK
They started with one. Then they ordered another. Now they may
buy more. Karsten Branderup, owner of Handyman Nyborg ApS on the
island of Fyn in Denmark, has decided to invest in tiltrotators.
And he’s by no means alone. More and more Danish contractors are
discovering how rational and efficient an excavator is when it’s
equipped with a tiltrotator. PAGE 7
ROTATE
Tilt&engcon news #2 • 2008
Good vibrations!
Continued on next page
MIKA’S MACHINE LEAVES THE GROUND INTACT
engcon’s tiltrotator is indispensable for drainage operations on
house lots. Customers appreciate the fact that Mika Laurila’s handy
excavator leaves few marks on the ground.PAGE 8
“The results are perfect and it’s so easy to use.”When the
conversation turns to vibratory soil compactors, Terje Viken has no
doubts: engcon has the best vibrations. Terje has drawn this
conclusion after trying other brands in his company’s machine
fleet.
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Thank you for helping us winOur common values state that any-one
who wears an engcon emblem is unique. He or she is an ambassador
for the company, and must act in a way that brings our company
positive publicity.Team engcon has won the Albert Bon-nier
Entrepreneur of the Year Award. I see this award as an
acknowledgement of all our hard work and a token of our
success.
You made it possibleDon’t get me wrong – I don’t mean to sound
boastful. We’re just delighted over this recognition, and over
having built – to use the words of the award panel – a globally
leading company that has brought growth to our local industry and
helped create new job opportuni-ties in a sparsely populated
region.Besides being delighted, we’re also deeply grateful to each
and every one of our customers. You’re the ones who have made our
success possible. Natu-rally, we’ll continue putting you first and
giving you service according to what is stated in engcon’s values:
that everyone who wears an engcon emblem should provide more than
is expected of them.
InspirationAs part of this commitment, we con-stantly aim to
improve the products and services we provide to you. A customer
survey we conducted during the spring has generated many
interesting sugges-tions on how we can improve our activi-ties.
These suggestions, which a large group of our customers presented
and ranked in order of priority, will play a vital role in our
future improvement work.Our customers also made many positive
comments regarding both our products and our staff’s service
manner. Thank you for this positive feedback.Like the Entrepreneur
of the Year Award, these comments and improvement sug-gestions will
inspire us to become even more professional, flexible, committed
and clear in our communication.
Stig Engström “We’re delighted with our 350. It does an
ex-cellent job and is easy to maintain,” says Terje. He also points
out how quick and easy it is to change the oil compared to other
brands. “A very smart solution,” he comments.
Soil compaction on the riseHaving good tools that rationalise
the machine operator’s work is a must in order to remain
competitive in the construction and installa-tion industry – not
least when it comes to soil compaction, an operation that is
increasingly in demand.
“This is particularly true with regard to road construction.
Among other things, we’re seeing an increasing tendency to compress
the outer edges along pedestrian and cycling paths, and
when erecting lamp posts,” says Terje. He tells us he’s also
used the vibrator to push pipes through a railway bank. “It worked
perfectly,” he assures us.
Third generation in the companyTerje runs Henrik Viken AS
together with his two brothers. Their father, Henrik Viken, founded
the company in 1952, but he and his wife Astrid have since retired.
However, two generations still work in this family company.
“Yes, my son Morten also works here,” says Terje.
Henrik Viken AS, located in Hommelvik north of Trondheim, has
several nationwide
contractors among its customers. The com-pany recently replaced
one of its excavators and invested in another new tiltrotator – a
pro-portionally controlled EC20.
Continued from page 1
2
Terje is one of the three Viken brothers who run the Norwegian
company Henrik Viken AS. Here he watches his son Morten operate a
vibratory soil compactor.
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Wojak is adding engcon tiltrotators to his ma-chine fleet. He’s
convinced that the tiltrota-tors will give his company big
competitive advantages.
“I plan to use the tiltrotator for various spe-cialised
operations,” he says. “Such operations are frequently requested in
this part of Poland, which is very hilly. A tiltrotator makes jobs
easier and reduces the need for manual work. This is our first
engcon tiltrotator, but it cer-tainly won’t be our last.”
In-house technical expertisePPUH WOLIMEX has been on the market
since 1988, and is primarily known in the in-stallation sector for
providing a wide range of construction and installation operations.
The
PPUH WOLIMEX is one of southern Poland’s largest private
contractors and the first Polish company to add a EC 15
tilt-
rotator to its machine fleet. That’s a good start.
“When I heard about engcon and saw a demonstration of the
tiltrotator, I immediately saw how much it would benefit my
business,” says the company’s head, Eugeniusz Wojak.
company’s main activity area is water & sew-erage,
reservoirs, hydroelectric power plants and waste water treatment
plants.
WOLIMEX owns a large number of con-struction and installation
machines including almost 60 excavators. The company is classi-fied
as mid-sized, with about 250 year-round employees. WOLIMEX has
in-house technical experts who manage installation and
construc-tion projects, so they can quickly solve prob-lems in
connection with various investment projects.
Tiltrotator demo convinced Polish contractor
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Father and son. Eugeniusz Wojak manages over 250 employees, and
wants to further expand his company. The company’s engcon
tiltrotator facilitates specialist operations in southern Poland’s
hilly terrain.
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Adveri specialises in technical verification and automotive
tests. The company operates in Östersund, and its largest customer
is Scania.
The company’s collaboration with engcon began last autumn with
the verification of the new universal hitch. The first months
focused on theoretical analysis and calculations of properties
including durability. This was fol-lowed in February by destructive
tests – ex-
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Dennis Marais first spotted engcon’s tiltrotator at the Batimat
expo in 2003, and was immedi-ately convinced that tiltrotators
would be the future in the excavation sector. He took his boss by
one hand and the machine sales rep by the other, and showed them
his discovery.
Cheaper than conversionHis boss quickly realised that it was
pointless trying to convince Dennis to buy an excavator with an
offset boom instead. And the sales rep had no option but to find
out about engcon’s product range. Both of them soon discovered that
it was actually cheaper to fit a standard
“My excavator is actually a bit too big, but small machines
aren’t my thing. And with an engcon tiltrotator, I can do
everything from finishing work to rugged operations – a
big advantage when you don’t have a big machine fleet,”
says Dennis Marais, a French contractor in Normandy.
machine with engcon’s tiltrotator than convert it for a offset
boom. What’s more, an uncon-verted machine would be much easier to
sell at a later date, since machines with offset booms haven’t
caught on in Europe yet. They decided to buy a spanking new Komatsu
PC160.
Enthusiastic operator turned contractorTwo years later, Dennis
started his own busi-ness and took over the construction and
instal-lation operations from his former boss, who now specialises
exclusively in recycling. His boss kept Dennis’s old excavator,
which had done over 5,000 hours, and he wouldn’t part with the
tiltrotator or the engcon RF and SK either – so Dennis had to buy
new equipment.
The old Komatsu excavator had been fitted with an engcon S60
hitch, and this hitch is now standard in Dennis’s company. He
re-placed the Komatsu with a used Daewoo 170. The used Daewoo had
also done 5,000 hours, but was completely renovated and overhauled
and looked like new.
Dennis got contracts rolling in Normandy
Dennis Marais could never have created such a tidy slope with an
ordinary excavator. With his engcon tiltrotator, he can do
everything from finishing work to rugged jobs.
Proportionally controlled tiltrotators“I bought a new
tiltrotator because I planned to use it on the next machine,” says
Dennis, who is busy creating a tidy slope which he could never have
done with an ordinary excavator.
During the break, Dennis’s colleague Stefan arrives with his
Komatsu PW140. His machine is also equiped with engcon. Just a few
days ago, Dennis picked up his brand new Daewoo after it had been
converted by engcon’s service staff. Stefan already uses a
proportionally con-trolled engcon tiltrotator, and now it’s
Dennis’s turn to work with the best engcon has to offer.
The two French colleagues assure us that their services are in
high demand. They explain that this is because their equipment
makes everyone else’s work on the construction site so much
easier.
engcon’s quality put to the testengcon’s products are to be
verified. Their high quality, which users have already experienced
first hand, will now be officially certified through advanced
technical analyses and intensive testing.
“In particular, engcon’s new universal hitch will be thoroughly
tested,” says Adveri’s CEO Torbjörn Bäckström.
tremely tough tests for examining durability.But Adveri’s
undertaking doesn’t stop there.
The company has a long-term collaboration with engcon.
“We’ll also be involved in further developing engcon’s vibratory
soil compactor, primarily its hydraulic system. And in the longer
term, there are plans for us to verify encgon’s whole product
range,” says Bäckström.
Engcon has commissioned these verifications as part of the
company’s ongoing quality im-provement efforts.
“It’s vital to have certification that we’ve got it right,”
explains Sten Strömgren, engcon’s marketing manager. “Also,
verifications are necessary today, now that more and more ma-chine
manufacturers are showing an interest in engcon’s products.”
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– an instant success!”System engcon”
System engcon has been an instant success. Now engcon will add
further tools to this product line. The advantage is clear: System
engcon gives customers a complete range of buckets and tools
compatible with engcon’s other products.
System engcon was launched in spring 2008. This line of buckets
and tools offers a complete solution that meets all everyday
requirements.
“All the tools are made of top quality steel, and their wear
areas are reinforced with Hardox steel, “ says engcon’s marketing
manager Sten Strömgren. “Our customers have been reques-ting a
system like this for a long time, and System engcon has already
received a lot of posi-tive feedback.”
We’ve now got a complete line of buckets and tools compatible
with engcon’s tiltrotators for machines weighing 1.5 to 32
tonnes.
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“Of course it feels wonderful to have won Al-bert Bonnier’s
prize for my achievements as an entrepreneur,” comments Stig
Engström, CEO of engcon Holding AB. “And most gratifying of all is
that the prize proves that that the awards we won in 2002 weren’t
just a flash in the pan. It shows we’ve remained at the fore-front
and are still developing and progressing towards new, exciting
goals.”
Team engcon to be increased tenfoldIt’s no coincidence that
Engström automati-cally uses the word “we” when talking of
eng-con’s past and future successes.
“This award shows that everybody in Team engcon has done a great
job. engcon is now embarking on an ambitious and exciting goal: to
increase our production tenfold by 2016,” he reveals. He’s
convinced that there is market and sales potential for such strong
growth.
Large areas of the global market are still virgin territory, and
contractors there will discover that an excavator equipped with a
tiltrotator is an unbeatable combination – just as Scandina-vian
contractors have done before them.
“We’re seeing huge interest from many countries,” he says. “But
as in any other con-text, focus is vital in achieving success.
That’s
Entrepreneur of the Year aims for new, challenging goals
why we’re prioritising the German, French and UK markets.”
Network of expertsTo increase production tenfold over the next
eight years, engcon has built up a network of skilled
subcontractors.
“They’re experts in their areas of production. We’ve also
decided to specialise our activities and focus on our core
expertise,” says Stig.
There are ten companies in the network. Four of them operate at
their own premises on the same industrial area as engcon. engcon
has become a partner in two of these companies.
“All ten of them want to participate in achieving our goal, and
they all have the necessary strength,” says Stig Engström, who
founded engcon in 1990 with his brother Ulf.
In the 18 years since the company started, engcon has been
singled out as a Gazelle com-pany eight years in a row – a unique
achieve-ment in Sweden.
In 2002, Stig Engström was named Gnosjö Enterpriser of the Year
and won second prize in the world final
of Entrepreneur of the Year.Now he’s done it again. As head of
engcon, Stig has won yet another prestigious award –
Entrepreneur
of the Year 2007.
EXPOS 2008
Scotplant, Edinburgh, Scotland 25/4 — 26/4
SED, Rockingham-Corby, UK 13/5 — 15/5
Maskin-Expo, Barkarby, Sweden 22/5 — 24/5
Tiefbau Live, Schwalmtal, Germany 29/5 – 31/5
Black Isle Show, UK 7/8 – 8/8
Metko, Jämsänkoski, Finland 28/8 — 30/8
Saltex, UK 2/9 — 4/9
Steinexpo, Homberg, Germany 3/9 — 6/9
Nordbau, Münster, Germany 11/9 – 16/9
Dyrskuen, Norway 12/9 — 14/9
Galabau, Nürnberg, Germany 17/9 – 20/9
Forest show, Cannock, UK 18/9 — 20/9
Agromek 2 Denmark 25/11 — 29/11
We will also participate in many local machine
demonstrations.
Keep a look out for engcon.
22–24 M
aySta
nd 822–
824
Last year, Maskin-Expo in Barkarby re-ceived a record number of
26,000 visitors. This record could well be broken this year – and
Strömgren hopes that engcon’s stand will attract plenty of
visitors.
At this year’s Maskin-Expo on 22–24 May, engcon will focus
strongly on System engcon, the company’s new line of buckets and
tools. But another new product will also be premiered at the expo:
engcon’s simulator (see separate article).
“We’re organising a small competition where visi-tors will bea
to demonstrate their skill at operating a tiltrotator,” reveals
Strömgren.
After Maskin-Expo, System engcon and the si-mulator will do the
rounds at a number of other expos.
Maskin-Expo is Scandinavia’s largest construction expo.
Naturally, engcon will exhibit at this year’s expo in
Barkarby.
“Our most exciting news is System engcon, which will be
premiered at the expo,” says marketing manager Sten Strömgren.
Don’t miss engcon’s new products!
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“The right choice”
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• It was the perfect tool for the job
• The company realised the possibilities that this invest-ment
would open up.
• The excavator was well-pre-pared to be supplemented with a
tiltrotator.
These are three good reasons why Karsten Branderup, owner of
Handyman Nyborg ApS on the island of Fyn in Denmark, decided to
equip the company’s new Takeuchi TB1140 with a tiltrotator.
The job it was so perfect for was a major renovation of the
water and sewerage system in the centre of Nyborg. The investment
defi-nitely met with the company’s expectations.
“We can’t praise the tiltrotator highly enough. It really does
its job well,” says Branderup.
First one, then two – and maybe moreBranderup founded his
company in 2006, and now has five employees. Business has gone
well, and Handyman in Nyborg has now in-vested in a second
tiltrotator.
This time a Takeuchi TB175, again supplied by Danish importer
Øbakke A/S, has been equipped with an EC10.
Handyman’s investment reflects a current trend on the Danish
market: a growing interest in tiltrotators.
“Yes, more and more people are discovering the benefits of
tiltrotators and how they fa-cilitate work on the sites,” says
Henrik Bolting at engcon Denmark, which is based in Glamsbjerg in
south-western Fyn in the centre of Denmark.
Procurement requirementOne sign of the tiltrotator’s growing
success is an increasingly frequent trend in connection with
procurements: both public and private construction clients are
stipulating in their project requirements that the work must be
done with a tiltrotator.
Another sign that we’re on the right rack, as Bolting puts it,
is that engcon Denmark has moved to new premises and taken on more
employees.
Henrik’s colleague Kenn Andersen works with spare parts and
support, and the company also has three assembly mechanics.
Handyman Nyborg ApS on the island of Fyn bought its first
tiltrotator when the company
won a contract to renovate the water and sewerage system in the
centre of Nyborg.
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Tilt & Rotate is published by engcon Nordic AB
Official publisher: Sten
Strömgren,[email protected] address: Box 111, 833 22
Strömsund, SwedenStreet address: Industricentravägen, Strömsund,
SwedenPhone: +46 (0)670 178 00Fax: +46 (0)670 178 28Website:
www.engcon.comTilt & Rotate is produced in collaboration with
Strateg Marknadsföring AB, Örebro, Sweden.
Mika founded his contracting company, Kone-urakointi K&M
Laurilaa, in 2005. He now works full-time with his business,
specialising mainly in building foundations, foundation drainage
and water and sewerage. The com-pany also does road maintenance in
the local village. Mika started operating machines at an early age
in his father Kyösti’s forestry com-pany, which switched its focus
to excavation in 1988. After his national military service, Mika
spent 12 years working for another industrial company.
Good reputation with a tiltrotator
Although Mika mainly works in the country-side, he uses a JCB
ZTTS 8045 excavator with a short overhang.
No need to move the machine“Many people say that machines with
short overhangs are designed for urban work,” says Mika. “But the
land around old rural houses is full of trees and sheds, which only
leaves narrow space to operate in. No other type of machine does
the job this well.” Mika’s ma-chine is fitted with an engcon
tiltrotator. He says it works like the operator’s extended arm
during operations such as sloping.
When doing drainage jobs around the houses, Mika can apply sand
on the tubes just
by turning the bucket. There’s no need to move the machine.
“This prevents unnecessary markings being left on the ground
after the excavation – some-thing my customers are very pleased
about,” explains Mika.
The space is often so narrow that the ma-chine can only be
driven backwards and for-wards. engcon’s tiltrotator is
indispensable in this situation.
Worthwhile maintenance Mika has used his engcon tiltrotator with
two different machines, and they’ve run like clock-work for 4,600
hours.
“No problems at all,” he assures us. “I’ve never
“engcon’s tiltrotator is perfect for drainage and sloping
operations,”
says Mika Laurila.
engcon Head Office +46 670 17800 • engcon Denmark +45 202 035 84
• engcon Finland +35 8 63 222 81engcon GmbH +49 9342 93485-0 •
engcon UK +44 1564 785 161www.engcon.com • [email protected]
We’ll soon be betting our first simulator for engcon
tiltrotators. It’s based on computer game technology – but it’s far
from just fun and games.
“The aviation industry was first, and now there’s a fast-growing
trend for using simulators when training machine operators,” says
Magnus Björkman at Tenstar in Falun, Sweden.
Tenstar is collaborating with engcon to design a simulator for
an excavator equipped with a tiltrotator. It’s primarily intended
to be used at expos and demonstrations, and will be pre-miered at
this spring’s Maskin-Expo.
“In phase two, we’ll develop a more advanced simulator that can
be used for training ma-chine operators,” says Björkman.
There is a fast-rising trend for simulator-based training.
Tenstar has developed several simulator programs for schools
throughout Sweden. Today, trainee machine operators can do up to 35
% of their compulsory machine operating hours in a simulator.
Many benefits“Simulators offer many benefits. They’re
envi-ronmentally friendly, they save money and they’re safe,” says
Björkman.
According to engcon’s marketing manager Sten Strömgren, it’s
necessary to invest in simulators.
“Many people see them as just fun,” he says.” Yes, they do have
an element of fun, but they’re also part of the future. Young
people today – tomorrow’s machine operators – are ‘digital-ised’
and enjoy digital games. A simulator is partly fun, but it’s mostly
serious.”
engcon will be getting a simple simulator to present at this
year’s spring and summer expos, but will later get a more
specialised simulator for tiltrotator training.
“Among other things, we’ll use it for training operators –
especially in markets where our tiltro-tators aren’t very
widespread,” says Strömgren.
Simulator supplements trainingengcon tested by Armed
Forcesengcon’s scrap handling grabs can stand up to tough
treatment. Now the Swedish Armed Forces have also had proof of
this.
A while ago, Göta Engineers Regiment asked permission to test an
engcon scrap handling grab under so-called field conditions.
We lent them an SK20. Soon after-wards the regiment sent us a
letter. Among other things, the letter said, “Thank you for your
helping us to initiate tests for explosive ordnance disposal.”
even needed to change the bushings or rods.”He dutifully greases
his tiltrotator every day.
This pays off in the long run, and means he can rest assured
that the tiltrotator will always be ready for operation when he
needs it.
According to Mika, getting a tiltrotator was a very wise
investment The company is fully booked every day, even though it
only adver-tises through word of mouth.
“We’d never have been this successful without engcon’s
tiltrotator,” says Mika contentedly.
Entrepreneur Mika Laurila has
gained an excellent reputation in a
short space of time in Finland’s
Somero region, thanks to his
excavation expertise.
“We’d never have been this
successful without encgon’s
tiltrotator,” he says contentedly.
engcon’s tiltrotator is indispensable at work sites, when many
operations need to be done without moving the machinery to avoid
damaging deli-cate surfaces.