SANY UK & Ireland has hailed the success of its latest Scottish dig day event, held recently at a sun-kissed Sibbald Training Ground in Blackridge, West Lothian.
Aimed at everyone from landscapers and civils/groundworks contractors through to plant hire firms and housebuilders, the two-day showcase provided an opportunity for operators to try out the latest innovations in a relaxed and informal setting, with SANY experts on hand to answer questions and provide any information.
The equipment line-up included the SY18C and SY26C mini-excavators, SY60C compact excavator, redesigned SY80U eight-tonne short tail swing digger with optional TAB boom, and the SY135C excavator with upgraded cab. SANY’s newly released telehandler models were also in attendance.
The event followed the success of SANY’s first Scottish dig day, held at the same venue in 2023.
Senior sales manager Brian McGrane told Project Plant, “We had success through our first event two years ago. It’s a great opportunity to get customers and operators here to test the machines and see the improvements that have been made over the last few years.
“Some of the model numbers are the same but have had various upgrades. The SY26C mini-excavator has a new cab and is more operator-friendly. The SY35U and SY50Us also have upgraded cabs for improved operator comfort.
“We have an SY60C compact excavator that wasn’t here the last time, which is a more conventional tail-swing machine. And we have our telehandlers, which is a market that is going really well. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback since our telehandler open day at our Coatbridge depot last year, and some success stories from that.”
Brian described the eight-tonne excavator market as being particularly buoyant at the moment, with the machines very much in demand across the country.
While SANY has made great strides in the Scottish market in recent years, Brian sees plenty of scope for further expansion.
“Everyone has loyalty to certain brands, whether it’s the service they get from the dealer or the product itself,” Brian added. “However, I think there’s a lot more open-mindedness about trying something different.”
Next on the agenda for SANY is the planned launch of a one-tonne micro-digger, with Brian revealing that the firm hopes to have the first one in the UK for testing within the next month.
“Hopefully by the end of this year/beginning of next year we’ll go into production on that,” he added. “It’s a big market as far as units are concerned. I can see it being popular, especially for small plant and tool hire companies.”
