North East engineering innovation has recently been rewarded with a prestigious national award from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC), an organisation regarded as the voice of the global demolition industry.
At a recent ceremony in London, Komatsu UK was presented with the accolade of ‘Industry Service Provider Innovation of the Year 2015‘ for its PC490LC-10 high reach demolition (“HRD”) excavator. This annual award is presented to a provider which has shown continued and special dedication to the development of innovative products for the demolition industry.
Launched in December 2014, the new machine was specially developed to carry out demolition of large structures, and was designed in-house for the UK and European markets by Komatsu UK’s talented engineers, based in the North East. Manufactured at Komatsu’s Birtley plant, this high reach demolition excavator can reach heights of 28 metres, while operating a demolition attachment weighing up to 3.35 tonnes.
This extensive working range combined with the machine’s safety features sets the machine apart from others and matches the high industry standards set by the NFDC.
Speaking about receiving the award, product manager, Simon Saunders, said:
“The NFDC is widely recognised as a world-leading organisation which is dedicated to ensuring that high standards of safety, innovation and expertise are maintained across the demolition industry. We are delighted that our new machine has been recognised by a body with such high standards.
“Apart from the overall specification and capabilities of the PC490LC-10 high reach demolition excavator, everyone at Komatsu UK is very proud that it was designed and is manufactured in the North East. This award is a deserved acknowledgement of the talent that exists within our in-house teams.”
Design manager, Stuart Blackham, added:
“My team and I were delighted to receive this award in recognition of the design and development work which has gone into this project. The design was created using state of the art software and simulation tools which helped us to progress smoothly through the stringent Komatsu test programme at our on-site UK test facility. The end result is a machine with leading-class performance, safety and quality.
“I believe the success of this project is mainly due to the highly professional, motivated and skilled staff we have at Komatsu UK and I am proud to be a part of the team.