The tiltrotator is like one of Neil’s arms

Neil, an employee of RJ McLeod, operates a Komatsu PW160, one of the company’s five excavators equipped with a tiltrotator.

But it’s quite hard to pin him down. Today he’s digging in preparation for a new street in Glasgow’s expansive waterfront district. One of the companies operating in the district is BAE Systems – a manufacturer of military vessels – so this is one of the city’s most well-guarded areas.

After checking in at the security centre, a guard escorts us to Neil Paterson’s workplace.

“It’s a shame you arrived right now,” says Neil, who is waiting for two men with a concrete saw to finish their job. 

Before and after

But he does find the time to praise engcon’s tiltrotators, which have changed his working life and mark a definite “before and after”.

“I’ve been working for RJ McLeod for twelve years, and have used a machine with a tilrotator for the last two years,” he says. “If my boss took the tiltrotator away, it would be like losing one of my arms.”

Various buckets and a set of pallet forks are lined up around Neil’s Komatsu.

“An engcon tiltrotator makes your excavator so much more flexible. And if you add a set of buckets and pallet forks, there are few machines that can beat it,” says Neil, looking pleased.

He assures us that the company’s tiltrotators work perfectly. The few times there has been a problem, it was usually something caused by the driver such as a crushed hose.

Neil’s Komatsu is also equipped with engcon’s proportional control system.

“It’s very easy to operate and allows me to dig with higher precision.”