PRODUCT FOCUS
This is the device
[coupler] that
universally joins Dezzi
equipment to any
attachment required
— and is done in
under four minutes.”
Carl Gutzeit, Dezzi
though Liebherr offers a wide variety
of them for wheeled loaders, crawler
excavators, and wheeled excavators.
When it comes to specialised
attachments however, we outsource to
established OEMs such as Atlas Copco,
Montabert, and Rotar.”
He explains that the majority of the
tools from these companies have been
pre-approved by the relevant Liebherr
manufacturing factory and adds:
“Attachments such as grapples and
log-handlers, for instance, are offered
directly through Liebherr.”
The German OEM has a function
where each working tool’s operational
requirements can be pre-set, named,
and selected on the operator’s display
unit, he says, to simplify the rotation
between working tools and their
different settings. “Regardless if the tool
is from another OEM, this is possible.
We can do this with ease, obviating the
need for the operator to get out of the
cab to attach the tool.” The attachment
however must be pre-approved before
being fitted onto a Liebherr machine.
Francois Martin, Kinshofer North
America general manager, says,
“We honour a two-year warranty
on all Kinshofer attachments no
matter the carrier pairing. While most
manufacturers carry a one-year warranty
only, we believe in being there for
our customers and want to offer that
additional peace of mind,” he adds.
With the number of Asian OEMs
in the market, Rudolph would not be
drawn into comment on whether or
not the Liebherr attachments would be
compatible with these machines and
to comment on quality, design, and
availability of the Asian counterparts.
“As said, Liebherr can accommodate a
variety of working tools, and optimises
performance expectations by setting the
flow and pressure to specification,”
he emphasises.
Paul Heslop, Rhino Earthmovers,
was also thoughtful about mentioning
the Asian OEMs: “I would rather abstain
from saying which one is better than
the other. Availability from the factory is
normally good; however, it takes about
six weeks from placing an order with
the factory to receiving the attachment
in the warehouse in South Africa. Fast-
moving items are stocked in South
Africa; however, the larger items need
to have orders placed,” he observes
cautiously. He adds: “OEMs are not
necessarily ‘Western’; lots of top quality
OEMs are made in Asia.”
Pieter van der Merwe, MD for
Xcentric Ripper, specifies its use of
attachments: “Our attachments can
be used on any OEM’s excavators as
long as it is set up according to our
hydraulic settings. However, all our
products are patented — and our range
is much bigger than that of the Asian
countries,” he adds, while Carl Gutzeit,
MD of local equipment manufacturer
Dezzi Equipment, observes, “All OEMs’
geometry is different.” He points out
that “Many wheel loaders that come
into the country may not have the extra
hydraulics to cater for the third or fourth
functions. This does not only apply to
Asian models, as most other OEMs
could pose a problem adapting this to
suit when landed in South Africa. In
other words, the customer may get a
‘modified’ or non-standard machine,
which will obviously cause problems
down the line,” he observes.
Heslop points out matter-of-factly:
“Attachments, whether OEM or not, can
be applied to any machine simply by the
design of the adaptor bracket and then
the setting of the machine’s hydraulic
system to operate the attachment
efficiently.”
Customised design
Reducing operational costs is the main
aim of using various attachments and
there are times that a customer may
require a modified or bespoke working
tool. Nevertheless, Rudolph maintains
that there is not a demand for this
side within Liebherr and that all the
attachments that Liebherr produces are
standard, while Van der Merwe adds,
“We manufacture the linkage to fit onto
the clients’ excavators, by make and
model.” Heslop adds: “Attachments are
generally designed and manufactured to
service a proven market demand,” and
believes there is no market for bespoke
design, to his kno wledge.
Kinshofer’s MD is of a similar
mind: “Products are designed with
the customer in mind. Kinshofer
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