Driving efficiency and cost saving with his cat 444F2 and engcon combo

Back in 2017 just after the Plantworx Exhibition 2017 Darren, the owner of Bayleaf Enterprises a family business based near Newmarket started by his late father Graham in 1976 specialising in equestrian work, ordered his first engcon an EC206 for his then Bobcat E62 ordered from his old pal Mark Payne at Kellands Plant Sales in Bridgwater. More recently then he had a new EC206 with a gripper on a Doosan DX63.

Sensing some changes in the market including the increased cost of fuel, changes to the use in red diesel and transporting his machine Darren has made the huge leap to a 180° backhoe this time with a Cat 444F2. This comes with a brand new EC209 tiltrotator (our model for machines from 7.5t to 11t), GRD45 gripper cassette, DC2 controls, EC-Oil fully automatic quick coupling system on the top and bottom of the tiltrotator, full engcon QSC hitch control for increased safety when changing attachments and a plethora of engcon attachments he has acquired over the past few years. He had this to say about the decision to move away from his tracked excavator.

“With the obvious hike in fuel being the elephant in the room I jumped ship from my 6t setup as 1, having money tied up in a tractor and Lowloader didn’t sit well, 2, additional machine to fuel and 3, setup time, sometimes I was spending half a day to get from job to job, ie, get tractor and trailer, go get/load digger, move digger and unload , 9 times out of 10 nowhere to park tractor on site so taking it away! Then again in reverse after finished contract! Plus I was bought up on the backhoe! The convenience is the biggest factor, arriving on site and cracking on!

My 6t setup was running at 6 ltrs an hour, my cat is showing 5.5 on the computer!”

With so many choices of tiltrotator on the market in the UK now, we asked Darren why he stuck with engcon. Not being one to mince his words Darren said “Sticking with engcon was an absolute no brainer for me, all the years I’ve been using their units has been a great experience, great backup and service! Why kill the goose….!”

Darren went on to talk a little bit more about the increase fuel saving with this new setup.

“I’m currently running at the 5.5ltr/p/h mark according to the diggers computer, half a ltr less than my 6t setup, and without the additional machine needed to move it from site to site!

I’m absolutely convinced that the introduction of a tiltrotator on a backhoe will bring them back into favour, especially for owner operators! I admit that I was sceptical about the benefits of the idea of a tiltrotator on a backhoe but having a little go on the 4cx of Robin Webber’s convinced me that it brought something to the party!

I’m surprised each day how differently I approach the jobs I’ve done for many years on a backhoe, the lack of repositioning and little things like having to keep adjusting the rear stabilisers to get the angle you need! Time saving adds up at an alarming rate, and that goes hand in hand with the fuel savings!

I’m sure that the doubters of the tiltrotator are now starting to eat humble pie and are finally getting the fact that they’re not a gimmick that removes skills of the operator, they’re actually the future and bring a whole new skill set to the industry!

The future is here!”