After 30 years of Ahlmann shovels, NTP decided more than three years ago that it was time for another machine: a Mecalac. “The work has changed over the years,” says operator Steven. “With the Ahlmann, I also already had a backhoe and an excavator arm, which made the machine widely usable and I always enjoyed working that way. But nowadays as a machinist you do more and more different jobs and I'm now also much closer to the pavers again. The Mecalac is multifunctional, a combination between shovel and crane and therefore fits better with the work I do now.”
Steven still had a say in which Mecalac it should be. “Because I had always been on a shovel, I preferred not the Mecalac with the articulated undercarriage. Of course, I can't really compare because I haven't run on one. But the four-wheel drive and steering on the 11MWR is actually the same undercarriage as on the swing loader. That was my preference.”
Joystick reversed
The controls took some getting used to. “The joystick works exactly the opposite way from the Ahlmann, on which I had been running for thirty years. You have to think about that very carefully at first. There's a switch on it to change it to shovel operation, but when you're doing other work you have to constantly flip that switch. After a while you get used to it. Furthermore, with a shovel you only have one front end. With a mobile crane, you can turn the cabin 180 degrees. Then you drive forward again, but you have to steer in the opposite direction. This 11 MWR is an inside-turner. So you can turn it even in very tight spaces.”
Quick change
Steven works with several different tools, such as a stone/tire clamp, pallet forks, buckets including a 2.5-meter-wide shovel bucket, a ripper tine and a rubber slide. “Initially, I had another sweeping broom with a closed bucket from the Ahlmann with it, but it was a bit bulky for this machine. In consultation with the Ahlmann representative, we exchanged it for a sorting grapple with Engcon EC-Oil body. With this you no longer have to change hoses and I can now change them very quickly.”
He likes the fact that the Mecalac is so versatile. “It's an 11-tonner that you can really do anything with. For example, when renovating a neighborhood. Then a big crane lays the sewage and then we come to finish everything off, up to and including street work and cleaning up everything. You often spend a lot of time with the same crew. I also sometimes walk around for some chores, like laying out ropes and checking the job, instead of sitting in the cab all day. A little exercise is healthy, too. I'd rather do this kind of varied work than spend all day laying a debris job like with a bigger machine.”
No chill
The Mecalac is equipped with many conveniences, Steven explains, including air conditioning and heating. “But I actually always work with the front window open, and I can do that even with my infra work. Both summer and winter with me the window is open. It's nice and fresh. I'm not that cold. And it's also easier to have contact with the guys that way.”
Laser receiver
GPS is not on the machine. “I don't miss it either. Not yet anyway. I'm not into digital. But I do hear from others that it is a good tool once you get used to it. I get along just fine without it. I do have a laser receiver that I can put on the bin if I need to.”
Steven works with his Mecalac primarily in the region. “The travel distances are fine. I spent three-quarters of a year in Kampen. That's twenty minutes away. A travel distance of an hour is really already exceptional for me.” All in all, plenty of reason for satisfaction, Steven concludes. “If the work stays like this, I will continue with great pleasure. I'm nice outside and have a lot of variety.”
Credits: Henk Wind | Bouwmachines.nl
Photography: Michel Velderman
Mecalac 11MWR in practice
