Mini-Excavator Rental Demand
Long popular in Japan and Europe where work often is done in tight spaces, mini-excavators have become a force in this country as American machine manufacturers have developed their own mini-excavators to compete with popular imports. And a large number of mini-excavators on U.S. jobsites today are rented.
Most general rental centers have at least a couple of these smooth-operating compacts. Equipment-rental specialists have mini-excavator fleets with models in several sizes to meet the needs of customers doing a variety of construction, maintenance, landscaping, and demolition projects.
one of the first rental stores in the Atlanta area to offer a mini-excavator, adding them to the mix in the early ’80s,”It was compact for working in small places, easy to haul, and customers liked it immediately,”
Wearing soon added a second machine, and today his firm has a dozen units regularly rented by a broad range of customers. “Demand is very strong,”
Cat Rental Stores saw similar interest after the manufacturer added compact excavators to its line of equipment. “Demand for the product grew more than 60 percent. Caterpillar sales manager for mini hydraulic excavators and compact wheel loaders. “Mini-excavators can work in places where larger backhoes and excavators can’t go.”
“Plumbing contractors use the equipment for digging trenches for piping; landscapers use mini-excavators for jobs such as tree planting,” “Attachments provide versatility for many other projects.”
Size is one obvious reason for the popularity of mini-excavators. Small footprints allow the machines to work in backyards, narrow easements, inside buildings, and other areas where larger equipment can’t go. Mini-excavators speed completion of many jobs by doing work that otherwise would require hand labor. Their size and light weight mean equipment can be transported by trucks that don’t require drivers with commercial drivers’ licenses.
But size isn’t the only reason users like mini-excavators. The ability to dig offset trenches sets them apart from backhoe-loaders and other excavation equipment. This is made possible by two features: a rotating cab and independent left-right boom swing, which enables the operator to offset the boom to dig adjacent to foundations, fences and other obstacles.
