It can be tempting for the casual observer to overlook the more modest machines on a work site in the face of towering cranes, weighty excavators or telescopic marvels, but more often than not, one or another of various types of compact loader will be present and have a vital role to play. Compact loaders are the site’s workers ants: inconspicuous, but indisputably productive.
A whip round of hands suggests that, though this segment is relatively well developed in the region, the market continues to grow at a sensible rate and retains potential.
“Current estimates show the compact sector has increased by 20% year-on-year,” says Mark Mulligan, Middle East sales manager for the building construction products division at Caterpillar. “While we do not foresee this level of growth will continue we do feel the market will remain positive at a more modest rate.”
He continues: “Skid-steers are of course very strong in the Middle East and Africa. However, we are seeing an increase in demand in sub-8t excavator models, especially in Qatar. Compact wheel loaders (not skid-steer loaders) continue to grow in popularity in the Gulf region along with small telehandlers.”
Joe Lahoud, GM for CMC Group, concurs that skid-steers and compact track loaders are well developed products in the market, and represented by many brands in the UAE.
He expands: “Compact wheel loaders, however, are a relatively newer concept. They are also something that we at CMC have focused on in order to satisfy requirements in the market where a skid-steer loader is too small and standard wheel loaders are too big.”
As the distributor for Wacker Neuson in the UAE, CMC offers the full range of the group’s Kramer Allrad compact wheel loader brand — purportedly the top brand in Europe in terms of sales volume and resale value — with the WL350 and WL850 being Lahoud’s top sellers.
In broad agreement is JCB regional manager Steve Ryder, who notes: “The compact loader market continues to grow in the Middle East in line with market growth. JCB offers a range of compact loaders for the market and we see strong growth for this segment in the future.
“Compact loaders are the utility work tool on construction sites across the region — being used to transport materials across worksites, load loose materials into trucks, clean up job sites using sweeper attachments, or, with the larger loaders, handle trenching applications with a wheel trencher.”
Shahir El Essawy, business director for MEA at Volvo CE, takes a dimmer view, noting how the market for compact loaders in the Middle East remains small in comparison to Europe.
He adds: “We do not expect to see dramatic change in the market for compact loaders in the Middle East in the coming years. Nevertheless, Volvo CE has been steadily increasing market share within this product category.”
Volvo CE currently offers three compact wheel loaders in the Middle East — the L20F, L30ZX and L45F — as well as a range of skid-steer and tracked loaders, led by the popular MC60C and MC70C skid-steer loaders.
El Essawy continues: “Skid-steers loaders of all brands account for a larger portion of the compact loader market than wheel loaders due to their stronger culture of applications.”
Case Construction Equipment recently updated its skid-steers to boost engine power, hydraulic power and breakout force to ensure maximum productivity. So far, the SR130 and SR150 models are the bestselling in region, with the former emphasising ergonomics and visibility with one of the widest compact cabs.
These models are now equipped with an upgraded 2.2l engine displacement, delivering more engine power: 49hp in the SR130 model and 60hp in the SR150 — while additional pushing power is provided “by the new small frame loader arm stops on the loader arm”.
For Bobcat, the S450 skid-steer loader is building on the success of the S130 model it replaced, combining the advantages of a truly compact loader with many of the improvements found on the larger Bobcat models — including the first fully pressurised cab with air-conditioning as an option in a loader of its size. The internal area of the cab has also been increased by 10% compared to the S130 model, giving user more space to operate in.
FIT FOR PURPOSE
A significant strength of compact loaders, and particularly skid-steer and tracked loaders, is the broad selection of attachments developed for the different compact platforms.
Caterpillar’s Mulligan notes that “wheel saws, brooms, augers, forks and trenchers are all traditionally very popular in the region.”
He also points to the replacement of buckets on the compact excavators that are giving compact loaders a run for their money with grapples, hammers, shears and compactors.
CMC’s compact loader customers use dirt buckets, high-tip and side-swing buckets, grabs and soil augers, but Lahoud highlights: “Our best-selling attachments in the region are the pallet fork and the road sweeper.”
JCB’s Ryder adds: “Generally the majority of machines are still taken with a standard shovel. However, the fitting of a mechanical quick hitch can ensure that changing attachments is a simple and quick task.
“As the market is developing, we are seeing more sales of attachments like sweepers, pallet forks, augers and trenching wheels.”
Volvo CE offers nine different options on its compact wheel loaders; with its forks and fixed or extendable material handling arms regularly chosen. For skid steer loaders, it is more often buckets, augers and trenchers, but the range covers grapples, forks, saws, planers, dozer blades, sweepers, vibratory rollers, rakes, tillers, preparators and brush cutters, and, EL Essawy adds: “Volvo CE recently brought its own line of hydraulic breakers to the market.”
Bobcat’s S450 skid-steer can meanwhile be supplied with 48 different attachment types.
USER’S MARKET
With so many brands wanting in, and such a variety of applications to compete for, it is only natural that close attention to the customer is playing a key role in compact segment.
The variety and ready customisation and interchange of attachments is already a great example of this trend, but so is Caterpillar’s delivery of hand and foot controls across its D Series skid-steers, multi-terrain and compact track loader models for the first time.
For such a major manufacturer to change direction on such a major feature is indicative of both the user-led nature of the market, as well as how hotly it is being contested.
Caterpillar, in its own words, modified its control platform only after receiving extensive input from existing hand and foot users, and it has similarly been designed for both old and new users to be able to quickly adapt to it.
The controls themselves are customisable with multiple control modes allowing operators to tailor their style to their skill or task. The D Series also have air-conditioned cabs.
FINE-TUNING
In a segment that still has everything to fight for, JCB’s mono-boom skid-steer concept and its accompanying side-entry door continues to provide a powerful draw to many operators.
Originally introduced in its first iterations in 2009, Ryder notes: “With a single arm boom on our range of skid-steer loaders, we are able to allow safe entry and egress of the operator into the machine through a wide opening side door. This is a much safer and easier way to get into and out of the machine, eliminating the need to climb through the front window aperture and over the attachments.”
Aside from the access, a side-kicker of JCB’s mono-boom is the heightened visibility from the removal of the second arm — leaving only a single, naturally intransigent blind spot.
Case Construction Equipment recently acted by offering non-pneumatic tyres on the SR130 and SR150. Solid tyres are built to last longer and to increase the stability and the lift capacity of the machine and boost traction in dirt, sand, mud and gravel operations.
In complete contrast, widened flotation tyres are also now available for the SR130 and SR150 models and exclusively designed for the Middle East, where ground conditions are adverse and machines are at risk of getting stuck in soft sand. Measuring 70mm wider than standard 10×16.5 tyres, this simple solution restores productivity on all but the quickest sand. Suitable buckets for machines equipped with flotation tyres are 66” or wider.
On a returning point, Volvo CE’s El Essawy notes the benefits of integrated attachments — where the machine and attachment form a single unit — “that allows the customer to get the job done with less fuel and more uptime. Replacements or alternative attachments can also be ordered quickly and fitted easily.”
While highlighting the fact the Dubai Expo 2020 was explicitly won on a platform of sustainability, Caterpillar’s Mulligan further asserts: “Our customers want equipment that is safe and more efficient on the job site, and this will ultimately help drive the demand for compact products.” He adds that even environmental concerns have now become a major consideration for Caterpillar’s customers.
Mulligan sums: “In the Middle East, larger machines remain in demand due to the many large infrastructure projects underway and in the pipeline, but as the market matures, the compact equipment sector will grow and more sophisticated equipment will be required to increase productivity in each application.”
