"Fully loaded."
That's what Sany America wants you to remember about its newest U.S. entrant, the SLB 925 backhoe.
The machine with a 14-foot 3-inch dig depth offers these features as standard:
"The features we are offering as standard can cost more than $7,000 on competitive machines," says Juliano Silva, Sany America product manager. A heavy-duty bucket with side cutters also is standard. Four-in-one bucket and extend-a-hoe options are currently being tested.
The backhoe made its debut at the American Rental Association show and is slated to be available in spring. The specs fit the rental market, says Silva, "but it's going to deliver a lot more breakout force. We went with a 95-horsepower engine instead of a 74-horsepower engine to have a single product to fit most of our customers, including city, state and federal governments, as well as general contractors. These guys don't look for a 74-horsepower machine."
Sany is also considering adding electro-hydraulic controls, but first, "we want to make sure they are something operators actually use," Silva says.
Why enter the mature backhoe market, one that's gotten its share of dings as the combination of compact excavators and skid steers/compact track loaders has gained favor?
