Mecalac Offers Compact Wheeled Excavators to North American Market
Mecalac, a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of compact construction equipment for urban environments, offers its MWR Series of wheeled excavators to the North American market. Consisting of three models — 7MWR, 9MWR and 11MWR — the series features a range of benefits to help meet the needs of operations in the construction, landscaping and forestry industries, as well as municipalities and utility construction. The MWR Series of wheeled excavators are purpose-built to allow for maximum maneuverability in tight working areas, offering the flexibility and versatility of a skid steer or compact track loader in one machine and delivering higher speed and mobility than tracked excavators.
“Traditionally, wheeled excavators have enjoyed less popularity in North America because the open spaces and greater distances to travel favored larger equipment,” said Peter Bigwood, general manager of Mecalac North America. “That is no longer the case. As supply chain challenges continue and trucking costs increase, hauling equipment is becoming more expensive. Compounding that is the fact that jobsites are getting smaller and labor shortages plague nearly every industry and business. These trends make it easy to recognize that the North American market needs compact equipment and the specific advantages that the wheeled excavator offers. Mecalac has more than 40 years of experience building and fine tuning our wheeled excavators; and we believe the North American market is ready for this new approach to work.”
Each of the three models in the MWR series offers speed in a compact footprint. The smallest of the three, the 7MWR, offers variable speed between zero and 19 mph. Two of the larger models, the 9MWR and 11MWR, provide contractors standard travel speeds between zero and 12 mph with an option for enhanced speed up to 22 mph on the 9MWR and up to 19mph on the 11MWR. The speed in combination with the versatility of these machines provide operations with substantial benefits in productivity and efficiency by significantly reducing travel time on the jobsite and between jobs.
The MWR series machines have a center of gravity that is 20-percent lower than competitive models, according to the manufacturer, while still maintaining a high ground clearance. The unique combination ensures exceptional stability even while operating off-road and on slopes and simultaneously reduces the risk of undercarriage damage from obstacles on the ground. With four-wheel steering, the MWR series machines are maneuverable and feature a turn radius 2.5 times more compact than a traditional wheeled excavator.
Although compact, the MWR series does not sacrifice power. A 75-horsepower (55.4-kilowatt) engine is standard on each model. Lifting capacity ratio is best in class, with the smallest model able to lift three metric tons at 10 feet (3 meters) through 360 degrees.
Quick transitions between attachments
Using Mecalac’s patented hydraulic quick coupler, transitions between attachments such as buckets or forks can be made in under a minute from inside the cab. Equipped with a set of forks, the MWR machines can replace a telescopic handler or rough terrain forklift and another operator. The Mecalac patented boom system even allows for unloading pallets below grade.
“We’re confident that the MWRs will be a game changer for contractors and operators in North America for years to come,” Bigwood said. “By combining a compact footprint with a balanced design that is powerful, versatile and user-friendly, the MWR Series achieves higher levels of productivity than ever before, making it a valuable addition to any jobsite. There are wheeled excavators, and there are Mecalac MWR wheeled excavators.”
All MWR models in North America come standard with MyMecalac, the company’s fleet management technology. The onboard telematics system delivers everything from high-level summaries to specific machine details, including maintenance, inspection and damage notifications, to empower fleet managers to boost efficiency and machine uptime.
Learn more at www.mecalac.com.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.