ETEC Zero Emission models prove themselves in practice

ELECTRIC MACHINES FOR NEW GENERATION

ELM has been active as a machine supplier since the late 1920s. With nearly 100! years of existence, it is immediately clear that ELM does not hitch a ride on every hype, and ELM Group director Sander de Regt therefore looks somewhat suspiciously at electrical conversion companies that make their entrance into the construction industry out of nowhere.

According to De Regt, potential customers do need to realize whether these companies will still exist at all in five years or so. "Who is going to service such a machine if these companies are no longer at home? The investments are huge, so when buying electrical construction equipment, people do need to realize whether the supplier in question will still be at home after a few years or will still exist at all..."

De Regt also notes that an electric excavator is already facing an image problem because it would not make it to the end of the day on one full battery charge. Consequently, much is promised by fellow companies about kilowatt hours in relation to productivity, which in practice often turns out not to be true.

Technically good

"In any case, we ourselves are developing affordable and technically sound machines. In doing so, we show that an electric excavator is not inferior to a diesel variant and that the operator does not have to sit with sweat between his buttocks whether it will make it to the end of the working day."

Thus, one of ELM Construction Machinery's main objectives is to satisfy and keep their customers satisfied in order to build long-term relationships. To show how important this objective is to ELM, we asked two customers about their findings with the ETEC Zero Emission excavators supplied by ELM.

Appropriate service

Gert Jan Anker (co-owner Anker Grondverzet B.V.) is the proud owner of an electric excavator, type ETEC E160W. This 17-ton mobile excavator is working at the Groene Boog Combinatie (connection between the A16 and A13 freeways). He says that the main reason why his company switched to purchasing electric construction machinery was because Rijkswaterstaat asked him to meet the CO₂-standard. Gert Jan was already familiar with ELM, so his choice was quickly made to go with them. An additional advantage was that ELM has all the knowledge in-house and also provides the appropriate service, should an electrical machine unexpectedly break down.

Gert Jan continues that the use of electric construction equipment has many advantages over traditional diesel-powered excavators. "This ETEC can really be used for at least 8 consecutive hours and do heavy earth moving work. Another big advantage is that electric construction machines produce less noise, both for the environment and the operator. Finally, maintenance costs are significantly lower." If it's up to Gert Jan Anker, he will remain operator on the ETEC E160W for the time being!

Interesting partner

Jaco Nelisse (CEO Bruyn Nelisse) expanded his machine fleet last summer with the ETEC E36c, a 3.8-ton mini excavator. Nelisse: "We work a lot on behalf of various governments and in order to meet sustainability criteria regarding CO2 emissions, we cannot escape using electric construction machines these days if we as a company want to remain an interesting partner for the client, in our case the government." He believes that the purchase of a Zero Emission machine should not be thought too easily; the investment is considerable (in relation to a traditional excavator) and charging infrastructure does need to be present in the immediate vicinity of the electric excavator. This still poses problems in practice, because it is not always considered by clients that sufficient electricity must be available on the construction site." 

Nelisse is very pleased with the ETEC and in particular that the E36c easily does one day of non-stop work and also makes little to no noise. It makes the ETEC a fine machine to work with on a daily basis. Nelisse did not come to ELM right away. He did some market research before doing so. The reason why he chose ELM is that they have all the knowledge and expertise in house, short lines of communication and excellent service. Enough reasons for him to buy an ETEC with confidence!