Deere compact construction range making a splash

It was just under a year ago that John Deere announced the arrival of its compact construction equipment range Down Under, and already the range is making inroads in the country and capturing the attention and business of companies looking for quality machinery to add to their fleets.

John Deere’s WA distributor, AFGRI Equipment, recently held a two-day demo and display event in Gingin, 80km north of Perth, for its range of construction gear.

Its compact range encompassing track loaders, skid steer loaders and mini excavators has been popular with customers and was quickly becoming an important business for the dealership, according to AFGRI general manager of Construction and Forestry, James McKillop.

“The 325G track loader, for example, has a strong following by contractors and owner-operators, but we recently had orders from a hire company that is changing to John Deere from another brand,” he said.

“The move was made because the hire company said the John Deere product had better pushing power and the machine was more stable.

“The ease of service and maintenance as well as the commonality of components with other John Deere products was another factor.

“The hire company also wanted minimal downtime so prioritised rapid parts availability which is supported by AFGRI around the state.”

G-series tracked loaders

The 325G is a tracked loader with a 4.4-tonne operating weight and tipping load of 3360kg. Its long track frame of 2850mm without bucket and width of 1900mm on 400mm rubber tracks give it good stability. Its vertical load design also adds to the machine’s stability and safety.

It features a wide cabin with plenty of space for operators to work comfortably in and excellent visibility all around the machine.

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The cabin is tightly sealed to keep out dust and noise. Some notable features in the cab include an LCD monitor, halogen side lights, ISO electro-hydraulic joystick and several other control features such as bucket self-level, return-to-dig and creep control.

Some additional options include a grade-indication monitor, rear-view camera, keyless start, anti-theft and heated air-suspension seat.

The Quik-Tatch feature on the loader allows for quick and easy attachment changeovers. Customers can use their machine with a wide range of attachments such as nursery forks, augers, power rakes, roller levels, bale spears, forks and buckets for maximum versatility.

John Deere has also upgraded the 325G and its siblings - the 331G and 333G with more power and changes to the lift arms for more lift height, dump clearance, reach and breakout force.

The hydraulic flow rate has also been increased to boost the performance of the machine and attachments.

The 325G has a 55kW (74hp) four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine driving a single-speed transmission offering speeds of up to 9.3km/h. An optional two-speed transmission is available that will lift that to 13.2km/h. It has a lift height of 3.2m.

The 331G has a 68kW turbo-diesel engine, two-speed transmission, 4021kg tipping load and an operating weight of 5403kg; while the 333G features a 74.6kW engine, 4799kg tipping load and operating weight of 5493kg.

G-series skid steers

The wheeled skid-steer range covers the 36kW 312G through to the 332G with 74.6kW with radial lift and vertical lift designs.

Customers can add counterweights to the machines to improve operating capacity where required.

John Deere has made some changes to the design of the vertical-lift machines that give them extra capacity, such as increased boom height of up to 3.05m and operating capacity of up to 883kg, allowing the machines to carry larger loads.

The radial-lift machines, on the other hand, offer stronger digging performance. Both configurations have numerous bucket and accessory options to increase the machines’ versatility.

John Deere’s Worksite Pro attachments can be used with the Quik-Tatch for a range of tasks, such as a new grading-heel bucket for back dragging; and utility grapples with hydraulically-actuated tongs for scraping and brush work.

The key benefit of John Deere’s skid-steer range is the compact sizes and ease of operation.

John Deere also designed the machines to be easy to service and maintain. They feature a swing-out rear door for quick and easy daily service checks, a ROPS cab that can be tilted with ease for drivetrain access, and a swing-open hydraulic cooler for easy cleaning and clearing of debris.

E36 ZS excavator

At the demo event, AFGRI also displayed John Deere’s E36 ZS compact excavator which is its high-efficiency model featuring an impressive 5.5m reach, 3.25m dig depth and 4.9m cutting height.

It features a four-way adjustable windscreen, sliding side windows, zero-swing tail and removable side covers for easy servicing.

The E36 has the second-smallest engine in the John Deere construction range with a 22kW/107Nm power rating, as well as a hydrostatic drive and two-speed transmission allowing up to 4.8km/h of ground speed.

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