Komatsu promotes machinery ruggedness at ConExpo

The Chicago-based North American business unit of Japan’s Komatsu displayed several pieces of machinery at the ConExpo-Con/Agg 2023 event in mid-March. Perhaps of interest to demolition contractors and scrap recyclers alike was its PC900LC-11 excavator, which it portrays as a rugged and versatile machine.

“Designed for heavy construction, demolition, material handling, deep sewer, water, large mass excavation and mining/quarry, the 842 horsepower PC900LC-11” was among the machines featured at the event, which drew nearly 140,000 attendees from more than 130 countries.

Komatsu says its PC900LC -11 takes “productivity to a new level,” in part by offering increased bucket and lifting capacity. Komatsu says the model offers improved performance for several reasons, including: an up to a 40 percent increase in productivity compared with similar models; 25 percent more arm crowd (digging) force; and 12 percent more swing torque.

“Based on the notably reliable and durable PC800LC-8, the PC900LC-11 offers major design enhancements compared to the earlier model,” says the equipment manufacturer. “The new counterweight removal system helps make moving this large machine easier, and the boom configuration reduces transport height.”

On the maintenance front, Komatsu says a new service pass-through area “allows easy access to filters, oil level checks and sample ports.” The company says the model’s major structures, booms and arms, with a redesigned revolving frame, have been “engineered to increase longevity.”

Regarding safety, Komatsu says the situation awareness of the PC900LC-11 operator has been improved by tools such as a KomVision camera system, which is standard on the model. KomVision is described as a 360-degree monitoring system that uses six cameras for a real-time view of an operator’s surroundings.

At the show, the PC900LC-11 was displayed with Smart Construction Retrofit, which Komatsu calls “an affordable guidance kit that gives operators in the field and managers in the office access to both two-dimensional and three-dimensional design and payload data to help drive accuracy, control load volumes and improve operations.”