Total earthmoving supplier goes electric!

Sometimes we as a magazine are lucky enough to bring you a scoop. Sander de Regt, general manager at ELM Construction Machinery granted us a nice piece of news. "We are in the process of electrifying our construction machinery," he reveals. Three years ago, ELM Bouwmachines acquired the company ETEC. "Let that name also fit perfectly with an entirely in-house developed electrical concept," De Regt said.

The total supplier in the earth-moving industry doesn't waste any time. "Given the flight that electrification is taking, we don't want to be left behind. Since we are a completely independent company, it was important to us that we do not become dependent on third parties with our electric program. Our customers not only get the machine, but also our trusted service."

Starting with 3.5 tons

By doing everything in-house from A to Z, ELM maintains control over the entire process. "The basis for our electrical machinery is formed by our Doosan machines. As is well known, we are the Doosan distributor for Southwest Netherlands. The first machine we now have fully electric is a 3.5-ton unit. Extra focus for us is on the batteries, we are now waiting for them to be produced. We use Lithium Ferro battery technology and are doing this to guarantee fire safety," explains De Regt.

 "You can work 8 hours a day on one charge before the machine has to be plugged in. We have invested a lot in hardware, software, research and testing. By doing everything in-house, we keep costs under control, work on an affordable product for our customers and can deliver on our promise: a perfectly working machine, without emissions. The takeover of ETEC gave us an enormous amount of knowledge and manpower in one fell swoop. There are many bright minds there, real technicians. When we told them about our plans to electrify and were talking to a third party, our ETEC colleagues looked at us with raised eyebrows. 'We can just do that ourselves,' was the dry reply. And they do it, too."

Learning to think differently is becoming the norm for GWW

De Regt continues: "What we are doing now fits within the plans for CO2 reduction. It is a big step into the future that is inevitable for all of us. That requires thinking differently and saying goodbye to any short-term vision you may have. Focus the eye on the future I would say. See what benefits you can have right now by working electrically. Take working in inner-city areas for example: the demands on projects there are only getting tougher. No emissions, no noise ... less disruption. Being able to work with electric machines in such cases means that you qualify yourself 100% for the job. Then we are not talking about the distant future, but 'tomorrow already'."

The trusted address for 90 years

ELM Construction Machinery is celebrating its 90th anniversary. This makes it extra interesting for companies looking for electrical solutions in construction machinery: "We are doing pioneering work now, but also enjoy confidence. We have our own mechanics, our own training and are fast on the construction site. That is worth a huge amount when you are launching pioneering technology. The medium-sized contractors find this enormously interesting, we are talking to them now. And they, in turn, are hired by very large contractors."

De Regt understands that many companies want to watch the cat out of the tree first. "That's not a bad thing," he says. "We go tremendously fast here because we have the freedom to research everything, we can change gears quickly and test ourselves. The first orders are already in and the first machines will go to customers in late February, early March. One day we will enjoy a quiet construction site, that's for sure."