Volvo Launches ECR18E & EC20E Mini Excavators In North America

---

Volvo’s new ECR18E is a compact excavator with an ultra-low swing for work in tight quarters. (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

Volvo’s EC18 and EC20 lines of compact excavators have a couple of new members. One, the ECR18E, is a new model that excels in tight spaces with an almost nonexistent swing radius. The other, the EC20E, is a more powerful and easier to maintain evolution of its predecessor, the EC20D.

Both are just 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 meters) in height and only 3 feet 3 inches (nearly 1 meter) wide with their tracks fully retracted. They also both have 16.1 horsepower (12 kilowatt) engines but different digging characteristics.

---

The new ECR18E and EC20E are quite compact, as this image shows. (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

The Short-Swing ECR18E

Brand new to the Volvo family is the ECR18E. The company designed it with a minuscule overhang of just 0.5 inches (12.7 millimeters), so it can slew in confined areas without brushing walls or fences.

“We’ve . . . seen growing demand for a short-swing model in this compact class—particularly in the rental market, which our new ECR18E is well-positioned to serve,” says Volvo Construction Equipment’s compact excavators product manager, John Comrie.

Volvo also built the ECR18E for a low cost of operation, access to maintenance points, and ease of transport. It weighs just 3,748 pounds (1,700 kilograms), has a dumping height of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 meters), and can dig down to 8 feet (2.4 meters).

The Stronger EC20E

“We listened to our customers’ needs and improved upon our popular D-Series with updates that make the EC20E more productive, more versatile, more durable and easier to maintain,” Comrie says.

The EC20E bests its D-series forerunner with 22% more front lifting capacity and 7% more at the side, plus 13% more tractive power. You can adjust its auxiliary hydraulic flows independently in either direction, and opt for a second auxiliary line if you desire. It’s a 4,332-pound (1,965-kilogram) machine with a dumping height of 9 feet 2 inches (2.8 meters) and a digging depth of 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 meters).

Source: Volvo

Questions? Comments? Visit our forums to ask questions, get answers, and share your thoughts.