Went to the Hartford, CT construction equipment & services show yesterday in the rain. This is the essentially the Connecticut version of the same spring construction show I attended in Boston 2 weeks ago.
The Hartford show was much more alive, vibrant and well-attended than the Boston show. The considerable industry pessimism I encountered at the Boston show was all but hidden in Hartford... a very welcome change. It was probably still there if you looked for it... but it was NOT the theme of the show like in Boston.
Unlike the Boston show, there was plenty of John Deere equipment to see provided by two JD dealers (one construction focused, one aggie focused)... including a new JD 110 TLB (over which I had mucho discussion) and a magnificent JD 410J... a full-sized backhoe. Unlike Boston, there were also several lime green tractors, mowers and related equipment at the show. Oddly, CAT was not represented at this show.
I was happy to find many mini-excavators at the show... almost all in the towable weight range. There was a Yanmar, Kubota, Bobcat, Case (built by Kobelco) and IHI. I got to play with them all and stroked all of the dealers on price and "slightly used" availability. Other than Kubota, almost all had used equipment coming off lease and being culled from their short-term rental fleets.
Plenty of skid steers as well... tracked and wheeled... including ASV, Bobcat, New Holland, Gehl and Case. Again, no CATs in sight. Weird.
At this show, Case brought a 580 Super M (instead of the regular M in Boston). From prices and what I saw and was told, it is definitely worthwhile going to the Super M. I liked it a lot!!! But between the 580 Super M and the Deere 410J... I might be inclined to buy the magnificent 410J first once I win that elusive PowerBall lottery.
Once again, no Kubota M59 at the show. In fact, no L39 either if memory serves me right. Instead, they had a similarly dressed up tractor with separate seat BH.
The JD 110 TLB was getting a lot of attention but I eventually muscled my way in for some critical questions and a seller demonstration of how they expect an operator to use the hideous flip seat. It was not a pretty demo. In fact, they finally admitted that it made more sense to dismount and remount from the ground rather than for most folks to try to climb over the flipping seat!
Also asked about the infamous lack of a suitable skid plate and resulting parts exposed to potential damage. The salesman insisted that this was all part of JD's grand plan. He explained that it was better for all concerned that 110 customers buy a far superior third party skid plate... for less money and greater strength/protection. He hinted that JD and the most popular skid plate manufacturer were kinda in this devious plot together!
In regard to BH digging power (vs. the Kubotas... L39/L48/M59), he explained the company line that the 110 was still considered the optimum machine in a 3/4-ton towable machine market. He pointed to the 110's weight and tire size advantage over the L39... and made the bold statement that specs aside the 110 can out-perform the L39 any day of the week. He also suggested that the 110 could match the performance of the L48 but with much newer and more modern features. In regard to the M59, he punted and suggested that Deere had nothing to gain by building a machine in between the pick-up trailerable 110 and its smallest full-size 310. His statement: If a compact TLB can't be towed around legally, why bother with anything less than a full-size hoe.
There is more to tell, but I'll stop here for now. Time for my late-morning run to Starbucks!!!
Dougster
The Hartford show was much more alive, vibrant and well-attended than the Boston show. The considerable industry pessimism I encountered at the Boston show was all but hidden in Hartford... a very welcome change. It was probably still there if you looked for it... but it was NOT the theme of the show like in Boston.
Unlike the Boston show, there was plenty of John Deere equipment to see provided by two JD dealers (one construction focused, one aggie focused)... including a new JD 110 TLB (over which I had mucho discussion) and a magnificent JD 410J... a full-sized backhoe. Unlike Boston, there were also several lime green tractors, mowers and related equipment at the show. Oddly, CAT was not represented at this show.
I was happy to find many mini-excavators at the show... almost all in the towable weight range. There was a Yanmar, Kubota, Bobcat, Case (built by Kobelco) and IHI. I got to play with them all and stroked all of the dealers on price and "slightly used" availability. Other than Kubota, almost all had used equipment coming off lease and being culled from their short-term rental fleets.
Plenty of skid steers as well... tracked and wheeled... including ASV, Bobcat, New Holland, Gehl and Case. Again, no CATs in sight. Weird.
At this show, Case brought a 580 Super M (instead of the regular M in Boston). From prices and what I saw and was told, it is definitely worthwhile going to the Super M. I liked it a lot!!! But between the 580 Super M and the Deere 410J... I might be inclined to buy the magnificent 410J first once I win that elusive PowerBall lottery.
Once again, no Kubota M59 at the show. In fact, no L39 either if memory serves me right. Instead, they had a similarly dressed up tractor with separate seat BH.
The JD 110 TLB was getting a lot of attention but I eventually muscled my way in for some critical questions and a seller demonstration of how they expect an operator to use the hideous flip seat. It was not a pretty demo. In fact, they finally admitted that it made more sense to dismount and remount from the ground rather than for most folks to try to climb over the flipping seat!
Also asked about the infamous lack of a suitable skid plate and resulting parts exposed to potential damage. The salesman insisted that this was all part of JD's grand plan. He explained that it was better for all concerned that 110 customers buy a far superior third party skid plate... for less money and greater strength/protection. He hinted that JD and the most popular skid plate manufacturer were kinda in this devious plot together!
In regard to BH digging power (vs. the Kubotas... L39/L48/M59), he explained the company line that the 110 was still considered the optimum machine in a 3/4-ton towable machine market. He pointed to the 110's weight and tire size advantage over the L39... and made the bold statement that specs aside the 110 can out-perform the L39 any day of the week. He also suggested that the 110 could match the performance of the L48 but with much newer and more modern features. In regard to the M59, he punted and suggested that Deere had nothing to gain by building a machine in between the pick-up trailerable 110 and its smallest full-size 310. His statement: If a compact TLB can't be towed around legally, why bother with anything less than a full-size hoe.
There is more to tell, but I'll stop here for now. Time for my late-morning run to Starbucks!!!
Dougster
Just signed up for "Landscape Construction" Magazine. I already get a bunch of other construction trade magazines, small business magazines and mechancal engineering journals... but this one looked interesting!