PRESS ARTICLE

Significant increase in performance

Murrhardt-Fornsbach, 03.06.2024

 

Meeting the current challenges of the construction industry with pure rotation of the RotoTop

Many companies in the construction industry no longer have a generous cushion of orders, which means that willingness to invest in new machines has decreased significantly over the past year. However, the shortage of well-trained employees still requires special measures - the RotoTop from Holp can make an important contribution here.

The construction industry is currently facing many challenges: An unclear future is causing a decline in incoming orders. Nevertheless, it is difficult to find enough well-trained specialists to be able to reliably promise and meet deadlines. In addition to the well-known benefits, a modern, well-equipped machine park is one of the arguments that keeps good personnel in the company.

But how can this work with the limited funds currently available for investment? Attaching a RotoTop to existing and used excavators can be an important part of the solution to increase performance and save costs.

 

Increased performance for every operator

The intuitive operation of the RotoTop quickly increases performance: The excavator has to be moved less because the endless rotation allows it to flexibly move the various attachments to all areas of the working area, meaning that work can be carried out quicker and without fear of damage, even along walls or boundaries. This flexibility also minimises the manual work previously required, reducing the physical strain on employees, which has a positive effect on their well-being and therefore their motivation. Holp guarantees performance increases with the Rototop: this even applies to simple work such as excavation or loading lorries, where at least 10 percent is guaranteed, while customers in sewer construction have measured 25 to 30 percent, in earthworks 30 to 50 percent, and in landscaping there is most of the times even a multiplication of the original performance.

This easy operation of the RotoTop, which leads to a quick sense of achievement, is due to the fact that a machine operator working with a RotoTop has access to precisely the same functions that are largely comparable to the movements of a human wrist and are therefore easy to learn. In comparison, working with a tiltrotator (called RotoX with Holp) is much more complex. Every excavator already has two axes for turning the excavator and moving the arm. The RotoTop adds the third axis, which leads to 3D-movement. The fourth axis, which is created by the tilt, enables mobility that goes beyond the familiar movement of the wrist and is therefore much more difficult to understand.

Other disadvantages of a tiltrotator include greater weight and a higher superstructure, which can only be justified for specialised applications. Many people ask for a tiltrotator in a sandwich structure, but Günter Holp explains: ‘At first glance, it seems to be a good idea to be prepared for all eventualities. But in day-to-day practical use, more and more disadvantages become apparent, not only due to the structure and weight, but also due to the fact that it always has to be assembled and disassembled."

Taking these points into account, it has become clear in recent years that pure rotation in conjunction with excavator kinematics is the best solution, leading to the highest economic efficiency: This means that excavators equipped with RotoTop can be used very quickly and economically by other employees when the regular driver is on holiday or ill, thus avoiding unnecessary downtime of machines.

 

Effective cost reduction with RotoTop

There are numerous calculations about amortisation times for construction machinery and attachments. Depending on application and task, the RotoTop can achieve performance increases of between 10 per cent and the multiplication of the original performance. The purchase costs are amortised correspondingly quickly and the RotoTop then earns additional money with every job. This is all the more important as it can be overhauled at the end of an excavator's life with about one fifth of the purchase price for a second excavator life. This means that it amortises even faster and earns extra money for the contractor much sooner.

The rotary drive from Holp also reduces costs in other ways – which is called the second way of amortisation: If the RotoTop is permanently installed on an excavator, all attachments can be purchased without an extra rotary drive, which results in significantly lower acquisition costs. The increased flexibility with the backhoe bucket, which in many places makes additional attachments such as grabs unnecessary, also ensures additional savings. Of course, fuel is also saved when processing times are reduced and an excavator has to be moved less frequently due to the increased flexibility. In addition, the RotoTop often makes the use of a second machine on the construction site superfluous, so that a small excavator is no longer needed at all due to the high level of flexibility and therefore does not have to be transported and moved.