Urban construction sites: part of Mecalac’s DNA

Cities are constantly changing, whether in terms of public or private facilities with unavoidable consequences such as congestion, noise, dust, obtrusive street hoardings, diversions... and the need for local residents to change their lifestyle habits. Changes in the urban environment which may be indispensable and the source of future well-being, generate disruptions that are not always well received. And yet, there is no sign that the multiplication of these projects is about to stop: between densification, re-zoning, projects to improve accessibility etc. all over the world our cities are constantly changing and becoming increasingly confined.

Mecalac compactness: indisputable added-value for urban construction projects

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“It’s difficult to talk about compactness in isolation, because at Mecalac, everything is interlinked: versatility, compactness, innovation, respect for people, environment. But compactness is clearly the key variable in today’s and tomorrow’s urban construction projects. The constraints on such projects are developing in step with the policies of urban authorities that want to densify the housing stock, create offices, bring services to the heart of cities... without necessarily resorting to greenfield developments. Lack of space is therefore a daily challenge and one that comes in 3 dimensions. But to re-imagine machines with the idea of optimising their compactness, and above all for Mecalac the matter of never compromising on the other essential criteria of our machines, i.e. safety, autonomy, versatility and performance, it is an accepted challenge. “It’s an equation with several parameters but certainly with not many unknowns, since these issues go to the very DNA of our company”, explains Alexandre Marchetta, Managing Director of the Mecalac Group.

The common sense strategy of increasingly compact machines

The other “size” parameter: new engine standards are changing the size of engines, meaning they take up more and more space and therefore go against the essential objective of compactness of machines designed to adapt to the urban environment. This is where the design constraint associated with larger engine dimensions generally conflicts with the operator’s direct field of vision over his work and over the general site environment, consequently impacting safety. At Mecalac the goal is clearly to optimise the design of its machines by thinking “differently”. Therein lies the key to “practical compactness”. You can see it for example in the new MWR range presented at Intermat 2018: by lowering their centre of gravity by 20%, Mecalac has revolutionised the world of wheeled excavators. Consequences at all “levels”: from stability to accessibility, safety and “all terrain” mobility, the machine gains balance and strength without losing its original qualities or requiring alterations to cab size. The 9-tonne version is 2.5 times more compact than a conventional excavator.

Practical versatility: real advantages for our cities

Designed from scratch for versatility and complementarity, Mecalac machines – whether wheel excavators, crawler excavators, backhoe loaders, sitedumpers, wheel loaders or compaction rollers – are designed to operate efficiently on all urban construction sites. Of course compactness is an intrinsic part of the specifications of product developments at Mecalac, but is only one of them. The original goal of the brand – the uncompromising versatility in terms of safety, power and of performance whether in excavation, loading height, travel speed or in all-terrain handling – remains the driver of innovation that has been awarded the most patents among the numerous developments of the Mecalac Group. A single machine on site is better than 2 or 3 – for all concerned. Better for the operator, who can work autonomously and efficiently, for the site manager, for the various persons working on the enclosed site without forgetting local residents who are less impacted by pollution whether air, noise or optical. They all are beneficiaries of practical Mecalac versatility with only one machine accomplishing the jobs of several separate individual machines.

Daring to innovate without hesitation: for the best of compactness and uncompromising safety in urban construction projects.

Within the Mecalac Group, whatever the product, we always return to innovation and taking the risk that goes with it. And never losing sight of the human being, at the controls of the machine, on the site, in the immediate or extended area of the site. So Mecalac asks itself questions, about the structure and ergonomics of its machines without changing the fundamentals, and also changing their lines because compactness is not incompatible with urbanity. In any event, no such incompatibility exists at Mecalac which chooses “simply”, as much in creation, development or evolution of its machines, to adapt parts of its products to maintain or even improve compactness while giving them an “urban” Mecalac design recognisable to all. Thus, transferring the fuel tank of the MWR in the lower section to make space for the engine without changing the overall size of the machine and its performance, ultimately had the consequence of improving accessibility and safety for refuelling. Likewise, the development of 2 dumpers in the range, 6-tonne and 9-tonne respectively, with the integration of a brand new operator’s cab not only simplifies the job of driving but also and above all increases the protection and the safety of the operator and of other workers on the site. Re-imagining certain components, reshaping them, changing the manufacturing process, getting off the beaten track is the way to go in the endeavour to achieve perfect compactness. With a culture of innovation embedded in its very DNA, the Mecalac Group ignores preconceived ideas, mobilises and gathers its teams around its development projects and dares to innovate every day, without hesitation to create the best for urban construction sites.