timonium backhoes - buy a backhoe

THERE MUST BE SOMETHING PRIMAL about big trucks, something that draws Riley to the noise and excitement. Work trucks are big, brightly colored, loud. They are stronger than anything in his daily life, and they probably seem unpredictable in a wonderful way. They are rough, with a potential for destruction not unlike his own impulse to hit, kick, pinch, and bite when he is frustrated. He and I spend a lot of time in our car, too -- a much milder sort of machine -- so he knows all about piloting large metal vehicles down the road. If Mama seems powerful driving the car, think how omnipotent a boy must appear in his imagination, perched behind the wheel of a backhoe. In an earlier era, a toddler might have watched men with bows and arrows, or a brace of oxen, and would have been given his own, boy-size replicas to play with. But nowadays, diggers and dumpers are what introduce him to that important, yearned-for, grown-up world. When Riley first became interested in construction vehicles, I would sometimes shyly, casually approach moms of girl toddlers. "Does she ... like trucks?" I would ask, usually earning a pitying look in reply. "Oh, sure, she likes them, but she''s not crazy about them." Well, Riley is crazy. Absolutely nuts. Lately, as I try to keep him from stomping ants and bullying other kids, I''ve been wondering if maybe it really is a boy thing, as people say. Something to do with his biological makeup. "A boy''s being vibrates to the rhythm of testosterone," say Don and Jeanne Elium in their sometimes infuriating but always interesting book Raising a Son: Parents and the Making of a Healthy Man. This hormone, they say, drives boys and men through a repetitive cycle of emotional buildup and eventual, sometimes-violent release. More benignly, it makes them really like trucks, with these machines'' barely contained violence, power, glorious potency, and superior force. Trucks are, let''s face it, cool!

Major overseas suppliers for the small, compact machines include Kubota from Japan and Ingersoll-Rand, which acquired SuperStay in the Czech Republic two years ago. Ingersoll--Rand now imports the SuperStay machines (sold previously under the EarthForce America brand name) and sells the machines under its own name as well as the Bobcat brand. In 2002, 1R and Bobcat accounted for about 9 percent of the small backhoe market -- that in the first year of marketing. In 2003, Ingersoll-Rand and Bobcat will very likely start taking share away from the leaders, which will alter the makeup of the market within 12 to 18 months. Going back to the standard backhoes, it is interesting to note that Case, Deere and Caterpillar (in that order) are still the major stakeholders in North America. New Holland also has a strong market position. These four companies accounted for over 85 percent market share in 2002, down a trifle from years past. Terex became a more active player in the marketplace in 2002, jumping from a 2 percent market position in 2001 to a 5 percent participant in 2002. Terex used a very aggressive pricing scheme to gain market share during the year, which apparently worked successfully. I believe the Terex product line, which is well-engineered, is going to be better known in the future.

In some respects, backhoe loaders are going through an evolution of sorts. A decade ago, we had just standard backhoes like the Case Model 580 and Deere 310. Today, backhoes come in all sizes from small compact machines that have digging depths from 8 to 10 ft. up to the bigger standard models that dig as deep as 16 ft. The smallest machines are powered by both gasoline and diesel engines in the 20 hp range and reach about 60 lip. Their larger cousins start at about 70 lip and go up to about 115 lip. Several companies are moving into the smaller machines because of their growing popularity particularly with the rental industry and with landscape contractors.