Takeuchi's New TB20e Electric Excavator Makes its Debut at United Rentals

Jordanne Waldschmidt Headshot
Updated Mar 1, 2022
Takeuchi TB20e electric compact excavator parked in front of a United Rentals store.
The TB20e is similar in performance to Takeuchi's diesel-powered TB216 compact excavator.
Takeuchi

United Rentals customers will soon be able to put the first Takeuchi-designed-and-built, battery-powered machine to the test. The first 100 units of the new TB20e electric compact excavator have been shipped and will be available to rent at select locations across the United States.

“The product and market development for the TB20e took place in North America, so it made sense to debut the machine here as well,” said Clay Eubanks, director of global sales for Takeuchi. “We’ve partnered with United Rentals to introduce our first 100 units because of our long-standing relationship and our work together on current and future product needs. We’re excited to see how their customers react to this new environmentally friendly excavator with all the power and performance they’ve come to expect from Takeuchi.”

Similar in performance to Takeuchi’s diesel-powered TB216 compact excavator, the TB20e is 100% battery-powered with zero exhaust emissions. Noise and vibration levels are also reduced.

Like most electric equipment being introduced, Takeuchi says, the battery life will vary depending on the application and environment. When fully charged, the machine will run anywhere from four to eight hours.

The excavator weighs 4,255 pounds, has a bucket capacity of 1.34 cubic feet and a primary auxiliary flow of 9 gallons per minute. The maximum reach is 13 feet 4 inches, and the maximum digging depth is 7 feet 10.1 inches.

The spacious cab features a completely new high-definition, multi-informational color display.

“United Rentals and Takeuchi have a long history together, and we’re pleased to be the first to offer the new environmentally friendly TB20e excavator,” said TJ Mahoney, vice president, supply chain for United Rentals. “Not only does this machine provide our customers with a more sustainable equipment option, it’s also more cost efficient to operate. We look forward to working with Takeuchi on additional electric-powered equipment innovations in the future.”

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An electric evolution

This isn’t Takeuchi’s first foray into electric equipment. The manufacturer debuted its first electric compact machine at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017, the e240 electric excavator. The machine was more of a Frankenstein of sorts, with electric components installed by Green Machine after the diesel engine was removed.

The e210R compact excavator was launched in 2019, again with battery and drive components retrofitted by Green Machine. And in 2020, Takeuchi came back to ConExpo-Con/Agg with the TB220e, the company’s first fully electric compact excavator built to be battery-powered from the start.  

Takeuchi says it will be rolling out a full line of electric products to meet customer demands and sustainability goals.