Volvo CE will start deliveries of its EWR170E and the larger EW220E compact wheeled excavators - with optional joystick steering – starting in January. The short swing units are the Swedish manufacturer's answer to a growing demand for machinery to operate in increasingly tighter urban spaces and more restricted construction sites - and to do so in an environmentally friendly way.
Machine control technologies were pioneered in the concrete paving sector with systems having been used for over 10 years. Leica Geosystems was the first of the machine control technology suppliers to offer these systems on concrete slipforming machines and has developed a strong position in this segment. However the company met resistance from some quarters in the construction market and specialist Karl Soar said that some contractors were very reluctant to give up using conventional stringlines. He said,
