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Case unveils its new Series 8 wheeled excavators at the European final of the CASE Rodeo at the Case Customer Center in Paris, France
Case officially launched their new Series 8 Wheeled excavators at the finals of the CASE Rodeo event which was held at the Case Customer Center at Monthyon, Paris over the 25th – 27th October, and was attended by Mario Gasparri, President of CNH Construction Equipment, and Henrik Starup, Vice-President of CNH Construction Equipment Europe.
During the 3-day competition, which involved machine operators from across Europe and testing their skills on a wide range of machines, Case presented their new series of wheeled excavators to dealers, operators and journalists from all over Europe.
“We are very happy with the launch of this new series, with the three new models that have been unveiled – the WX148, WX168 and WX188. This market is essential in the public works sector. Half of the wheeled excavators sold worldwide are sold in Europe. This launch is the logical continuation of our program to renew our complete range, following up the launches of our new wheeled loaders, tracked excavators, compact loaders and loader-excavators,” declared Mario Gasparri.
The new series which was developed in close collaboration with the users, embodies the four essential criteria that were applied throughout the design process: reliability, performance, precision and ease of use.
No less than 20 prototypes and pre-series models were made available to operators in the essential product validation phase, and 5,600 hours of field tests were completed in every possible application to make sure that these new wheeled excavators meet all their users’ requirements.
“We are very proud of these new models, in particular since the users who tested them have confirmed that all their demands and suggested improvements in terms of power, stability and the controls have been taken into consideration and successfully incorporated in the excavators on show,” explained Jean Patrick Yekpe, CNH Construction Equipment’s European Marketing Director.
A fine backdrop to the product launch was offered by the 2012 finals of the now famous CASE Rodeo at the Case Customer Center.
This year, there were a total of 30 operators from 11 countries, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, who were all taking part for the first time. They were joined by the regulars from Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Norway and Poland.
There were 4 different competitions, as well as the ‘country/team’ and ‘overall individual winner’ which was won by Peter Bart Poppink from Holland.
On the first day of the event the operators had the opportunity to test the machines in the arena at the Case Customer Center Paris, before one last practice session prior to the official competitions which took place on the Saturday.
After donning their traditional Texan cowboy’s outfit (hat, checkered shirts and distinctive bandanas for each team), the finalists lined up to confronted one another.
In the first “Wheel Loader Lasso”, competition our latter-day cowboys used a 521 F loader to pick up metal bars in a storage zone and delicately deposit them on the various supports prepared all along the course. The ultra-smooth Powershift ZF automatic 4-speed transmission was ideally suited to performing the quick forward and reverse maneuvers that the contest required. Jarno De Weerd from Holland proved to be the most skillful and fastest driver in this exercise.
The operators then clambered on board a CX180 C tracked excavator for the “Bull’s eye”. Exceptional skills and precision were required to pick up the colored sticks, to which tennis balls were attached before inserting them in a tube of the same color and leaving the stick balanced on the top of the tube. After the four rounds of the contest, Belgium’s Raphaël Rosen emerged as the winner.
In the “Crazy Horse” event, the bucket of a tracked compact TR270 loader was filled with water, in which a number of objects were floating. Our cowboys had to complete a very tricky, sloping slalom-like course, both forwards and backwards and then return to the starting point as quickly as they could while spilling as little water as possible. Making skillful use of the bulldozer-type carrier chassis that allows the TR270 to operate on very steep slopes and in muddy and sandy terrain, it was Holland’s Peter Bart Poppink who carried off first prize.
The range of Case equipment provided for this grand finale was completed by a Tier IV 590ST backhoe loader for the “Yeehaaa Loader” event, recalling the famous battle cry of rodeo-lovers in the United States. Here again, the competitors could rely on all the flexibility and precision of the 590ST in this test of skill that involved carrying and delicately depositing balloons in barrels placed along a course full of traps. Juris Steps from Latvia set the fastest time in this competition.
The final of the 2012 CASE Rodeo 2012 came to an amusing end in a confrontation between the country teams and a mechanical bull! And it was the team from Latvia that managed to stay on the energetic beast’s back for the longest.
At the gala evening, all of the worthy winners received their trophies and the two last prizes were awarded, for the ranking by national team, which was won by Norway, while the overall 2012 CASE Rodeo European Champion’s title went to Peter Bart Poppink from Holland, who finished above the twice-winner and reigning champion Raphael Rosen and Richard Christian from the UK.
