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HUBER MAINTAINER INTRODUCES ITS NEW M-850-E MAINTAINER
Huber Maintainer recently introduced its new Huber M-850-E maintainer, which has kept the features and versatility of the legacy Huber maintainer, while incorporating modern components and manufacturing processes to satisfy safety, dependability, productivity and operating costs expected of today’s construction equipment.
The Huber maintainer provides precision blade control, ease of operation, a small stable footprint, close turning capability, transportability and reliability, according to the company. Contractors who presently own Huber maintainers believe that the machine is an indispensable asset on large or small projects delivering a competitive advantage over other rock grading solutions.
History of Huber
Edward Huber founded the Huber Manufacturing Company in Merion, Ohio, incorporating the business in 1875. Huber’s first machines were a steam engine and a grain thresher. From there, the company began manufacturing road construction equipment in 1905, introducing its steam road roller. In 1920, Huber’s self-propelled maintainer, an early predecessor of today’s M-850-E was introduced.
Following World War II, the company made the decision to switch its focus solely to road construction equipment. Its offerings included motor graders, rollers, cranes and maintainers.
By the late 1960’s, A-T-O Corporation purchased Huber and soon moved operations from Marion, Ohio, to Goose Creek, S.C., eventually selling Huber to Figgie International.
In 1994, Don Braden, former engineer and service manager of Huber, purchased the Huber line and returned Huber to its roots in Ohio, as a division of his new company, Enterprise Fabrications.
As the company grew, Huber moved to a new facility in Iberia, Ohio, only 20 mi. from its original home in Marion. Currently, the company operates near Fargo, S.D. Huber M-850-E Specifications
The M-850-E features a new drive train including a Tier IV Final 74-hp Cummins 3.8-L engine (no DEF required); a digital engine monitor display; Linde hydrostatic drive pump and motor; a Dana two speed transmission; and a Dana 45 percent limited slip drive axle. This drive package and a ballasted machine weight of 13,300 lbs. delivers traction and pushing power that far exceeds application requirements, according to the company.
The electronic foot controlled hydrostatic drive makes travel operation easy and smooth. A maximum travel speed of 18 mph enables the maintainer to move along in traffic from one job site to another and allows the operator to select a precise travel speed in “grade mode” from 0-6 mph on a touch screen display.
Safety features include seat belt engine start interlocks; park/drive lever and drive pedal interlock; back up alarms; highway lighting systems; amber beacon; fully adjustable seat, allowing sitting or standing operation; slow moving vehicle sign; DOT reflectors; maintenance free wet disk service and parking brakes; and a fire extinguisher.
Standard equipment includes all safety features, a 6-ft. bull blade, white powder coat finish and vandalism protection. Available options include a 9- or 10-ft. moldboard; moldboard hydraulic float; front work lights; rear work lights; turf or lug drive tires; rear wheel ballast; tow hitch; and special paint colors.
Huber Seeks Dealers
Huber Maintainer is looking for dealers interested in representing its products in many territories. The company is forecasting sales of 50 to 100 units per year and believes there are additional untapped market segments including government sales, forestry, concrete, general construction and rental applications that will ensure continued growth with proper marketing attention.
Huber Museum
The Huber Machinery Museum, located at 220 East Fairground St. Marion, Ohio, details the history of the company, its machines and how Edward Huber’s inventions received more than 100 patents for farming and road construction equipment.
Visitors are invited to see and touch the machines on display, which include tractors, steam shovels and maintainers.
For more information, visit hubermaintainer.com. CEG
Huber Maintainer photo Safety features include seat belt engine start interlocks; park/drive lever and drive pedal interlock; back up alarms; highway lighting systems; amber beacon; fully adjustable seat, allowing sitting or standing operation; slow moving vehicle sign; DOT reflectors; maintenance-free wet disk service and parking brakes; and a fire extinguisher.
ELECTRIC from page 1
“Using electric heavy machinery has numerous benefits, including a reduction in fumes, noise, emissions, energy costs and operating costs,” according to Autodesk’s Redshift.
A long list of machine makers has unveiled new models this year, and it’s expected more manufacturers will be rolling out electric heavy machines in time for ConExpoCon/AGG 2023.
RedShift believes construction companies can reap additional benefits from ditching diesel engines.
Studies show that the larger upfront cost of going electric is offset by more years of dependable service, the organization noted.
“Recharging replaces refueling, typically a dirty job on big machines. And less noise and pollution can yield longer construction hours,” said RedShift.
As battery power becomes cheaper, stronger and more dependable, there aren’t as many excuses against using electric heavy machinery, said Stefan Schneider, managing director of machinery maker SUNCAR HK AG.
“Some machines that have very high fuel consumption are hard to equip with batteries to work a full operation day,” he told RedShift. “But it’s possible to run most of the time from the grid with a cable.” Making the Switch
According to RedShift, it’s also possible to convert from electric/hydraulic to all-electric operations by replacing hydraulics with electric actuators.
The actuators are operated by complex computer coding that mimics traditional hydraulic movement.
And many of these companies are using the trucking and transportation sectors as their integration models.
RedShift found that all-electric construction runs parallel with initiatives to electrify trucking and transportation, another big source of carbon emissions.
The biggest single source of transportation emissions in the United States is from freight movement, mostly done by large trucks.
The California State Air Resource Board has mandated all-electric trucking by 2045.
California, Oregon and Washington support the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative.
The initiative wants to see a network of electric vehicle charging stations for freight haulers along Interstate 5 from Canada to Mexico.
Electric Making Inroads
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) says compact machines have gained the most traction in the movement to electric power.
In fact, most of the electric construction equipment models commercially available are compact machines.
“We started with the smaller machines because they are typically running only a few hours a day,” said Lars Arnold, electromobility product manager of Volvo CE.
That said, both manufacturers and contractors believe large machines are coming soon.
Volvo CE is testing a 20-ton crawler excavator powered by a 600-volt charging system. Availability is expected in 2024.
“The 48-volt battery packs and the duty cycles of compact machines are well matched,” said Ray Gallant, vice president of product management and productivity of Volvo.
From a technological standpoint, electric-powered compact equipment was one of the easiest to go after, said Chris Lucas, product manager of excavators, JCB North America.
Thomas Jaejin Lee, director of product management, Doosan Infracore North America, said, “We plan to make a shift to battery-type excavators for 10-metric-ton and below.
Though electric-powered mining, demolition, aerial lift and industrial forklift machines have been on the market for a while, the technology is quickly mainstreaming to general construction.
Electric construction machines were a trade show curiosity as little as six years ago, according to AEM.
“Now compact equipment manufacturers expect to be questioned on whether they are working on an electric model,” said the association.
AEM notes that while some contractors are natural early adopters, most are concerned with practicalities. Adoption Challenges
The three big barriers to electric machines, the association believes, are initial cost, run time per charge and charging time.
Diesel prices and carbon footprint also might play a role in the decision-making process.
Kevin Forestell, president of Dozr, said most machines have a six- to eight-hour run time on a single charge.
“However, the time that charge takes can differ depending on the vehicle and charging source,” he said.
AEM reports Volvo’s new compact wheel loader with a 40 kW battery pack has a runtime of up to eight hours and takes six hours to fully charge.
“We know significant improvements will be made in this arena as technology and charging infrastructure continues to develop,” said Arnold.
Charging your machine may pull the same power used for running major household appliances.
For instance, a 240-volt, 32-amp Level 2 AC-charging setup is what’s recommended by Volvo, according to AEM.
It’s the same power used for running your water heater and stove in your home.
The machines can be charged with a standard 120-volt outlet, but longer charging times make it impractical for construction.
“Insufficient infrastructure can be an issue for charging equipment, particularly at a more rural site or if there are several pieces of equipment to be charged,” said Forestell.
The solar charger Volvo offers is an off-grid, no-connection, free-standing option with a battery pack.
The company also is working on a rapid charger that would reduce time to just an hour or two.
“This unit isn’t off-grid, so it would need to be wired into a 480-volt, three-phase power grid at the location where you want to charge,” said Arnold.
Performance is another crucial factor in the decision to move to electric construction equipment.
Arnold maintains Volvo’s electric machines have comparable or better power than diesel units.
“Operators are surprised to experience the immediate torque and equal — or better — power,” he said.
Forestell agrees: “Many of the electric models coming out enable instant power and peak torque,” he said.
The cost of batteries these days means an electric machine typically costs two to three times a comparable diesel machine.
An ROI study by JCB showed a 50 percent return within three to five years, Lucas said.
Electric machine prices will drop as component costs fall with increasing volume, believes Joel Honeyman of Doosan Bobcat.
AEM advises contractors against comparing run times on a fully charged electric machine with a full tank on diesel units. It doesn’t show the whole picture, said association subject-matter experts.
“An electric machine behaves differently than a diesel machine,” Honeyman explained.
For one thing, when you let off the joysticks of an electric machine, there’s no idle, he said.
If the contractor’s goal is to reach zero emissions, it makes no sense to charge your electric machine with a diesel generator, said AEM experts.
Volvo’s Gallant said the company is paying attention to the charging infrastructure.
JCB has come out with a universal fast charger, designed to charge the company’s fleet of E-Tech machines.
“We always try to make sure we include multiple charging options,” said Rebecca Yates, senior product manager of material handling, JCB North America.
To be effective, temporary electric jobsite power must be deployed rapidly without permitting or site prep requirements, said Desmond Wheatley, CEO of Beam Global.
He believes contractors and equipment owners must reset their way of thinking about electric charging. While fast chargers seem attractive, their use is driven by what happens at the fuel pump.
The arrival of wireless jobsite charging will boost this approach, Wheatly believes.
With a ruggedized receiver, instead of being plugged up the construction machine could charge while it’s parked over a charging pad.
“The wiring is already basically in place, you’ve just got to extend it to the underside of the vehicle,” he said.
Whatever their eventual form, electric charging systems will likely be primarily rental items, Wheatley said.
As RedShift said, construction sites are messy, but the entire ecosystem needs to be electrified for the industry to achieve true emissions reduction.
Luckily, the options are growing for electric-powered heavy machinery that can do the hard but necessary work of building a cleaner future. CEG
