Agrishow Special: CASE brings affordable backhoe loader to Agrishow

Attentive to the needs of social inclusion and accessibility, CASE Construction Equipment, a CNH Industrial brand, brings its latest construction machine concept to Agrishow 2019. The 580N Accessibility backhoe loader, new available from April 29th to May 3rd at the event in Ribeirão Preto (SP).

The equipment, a first in the world, is the first to allow people with reduced lower limb mobility to operate a construction machine completely autonomously.  

According to Maurício Moraes, CASE's marketing manager for Latin America, the project's pioneering spirit is a Brazilian merit. “The 580N Accessibility backhoe loader is a Brazilian creation, in partnership with the company Elevittá, and focuses on the inclusion of people with reduced mobility in the job market and greater availability of labor,” he states.

The 580N Accessibility has the same functions and settings as the model without the accessibility feature. The main modification is the lifting platform, capable of allowing the operator to transfer the wheelchair to the seat of this platform completely autonomously.

With a lifting platform positioned external to the cabin, the ergonomics and internal space of the equipment are maintained, enabling the machine to operate in any condition. The external dimensions of the backhoe were also preserved.

A joystick is used to move and introduce the operator into the machine cabin until the transfer position to the seat. There was also the repositioning of hand supports and devices to allow for a new operating dynamic.

Acceleration and brake controls, for example, were transferred from pedals to hands, allowing the integration of the machine with the operator. “This is one of the options for the controls of the concept machine, but of course different demands are being studied until we reach the standard model”, concludes Moraes.

Another advantage of the model is that, as it is fully inclusive, it can also be operated by professionals without special needs.

Brazilian backhoe loader market and use in the field

In the first quarter of 2019, backhoe loaders accumulated 102% growth in sales, compared to the same period last year, according to data from ANFAVEA (National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers).

As it is a versatile machine, the backhoe loader is also in great demand for use in agriculture. In the field, backhoe loader applications go beyond infrastructure services. They operate on the roads that lead to farms, in the loading and handling processes of inputs and also in the production area.

CASE was the inventor of the backhoe in 1957, in the United States, and the first to bring it to Brazil in 1958, becoming synonymous with the product.