LiuGong, one of China’s biggest construction and quarrying equipment manufacturers, has invested heavily in its model R&D over recent years. Guy Woodford reports on the company’s big plans for its new leading wheeled loader.
The key innovations of the VL70A are its vertical lift loader arms on an articulating frame, and the mechanical self-levelling Z-bar bucket linkage on a vertical lift loader – both said to be industry firsts.
The vertical lift was developed, says LiuGong, as an innovative way to increase customer value when purchasing a loader. Vertical lift is said to accentuate the wheeled loader’s primary function: lifting and carrying a load, by providing a stated heavier tipping load and a higher lift height than conventional wheeled loaders of the same power and weight. Fuel costs are said to be greatly reduced as the reduced operating weight of the vertical lift machine allows more tonnes of material to be moved per kilowatt than with a conventional radial lift machine. This is said to allow customers to move more tonnes/hour for lower initial investment, while also lowering the owning and operating costs usually associated with conventional wheeled loader models. Since the vertical lift wheeled loader shares its basic technology with all other LiuGong wheeled loaders, the reliability and durability of the vertical lift machines are said to equal what customers have come to associate with other LiuGong wheeled loaders.
“This technology will create a new class for these machines. Our ‘truly new’ LiuGong vertical lift loader will be the first ever for an articulating frame loader. We are proud to say that we were the first to develop and will be the first to market the vertical lift articulating frame wheel loader,” said Edward Wagner, LiuGong’s director of Test & New Technology, and the inventor and lead engineer on the VL70A project.
“This technology is universally applicable and it is especially advantageous for stockpiling and truck loading applications with advantages in efficiency and performance” added Wagner.
The idea of vertical lift loader technology was first generated in 2010 and then started and was further developed in 2011.After four years of development, LiuGong expanded the team and went into the final development stage in 2015. This new product will be ready for mass production in 2017.
Meanwhile, at the 14th Congress of Asia Network for Quality (ANQ) held in Vladivostok, Russia on 21-22 September 2016, LiuGong received the ANQ Recognition for Excellence in Quality Practice (ARE-QP) Award, the highest award for quality management in Asia.
Launched in 2011, the award aims to recognise good quality practices among ANQ organisations. LiuGong is the first company from the Chinese construction equipment industry to win the award. Tan Wei, director of LiuGong’s Quality Management Department, attended the award ceremony and spoke about LiuGong’s quality efforts.
ANQ consists of all non-profit organisations in Asia that seek to improve the quality of human life by contributing to the progress of science and technology; and to the development of industry through promotional activities for the research and development of philosophy, theory, methodology and application in the field of quality and quality management.
