ROTOTOP, an attachment tool from German manufacturer Holp, is said to be gaining traction with UK operators.
According to the manufacturer, the rotary drive saves time, reduces costs, minimises manual labour, and increases productivity.
The first one sold in the UK went to Ben Porteous in Plymouth in 2023. He had been looking for a ‘cheaper and simpler’ alternative to a standard tiltrotator for a while. Advice from Jason McCullough, MD of MPS Southwest and RotoTop UK, convinced him of the benefits of the RotoTop.
Ben explained, “With the RotoTop from Holp, I can do 90% of what a tiltrotator can do on site, but at half the cost. What’s more, the rotary drive is compact and lightweight and easy to integrate into the machine and control system. We can use all existing buckets and other attachments and make them endlessly rotatable.”
The fact Ben ordered the RotoTop RT.022 for a compact excavator just two months later shows the value of a concept. A short time later, more were ordered.
Holp revealed that in the midst of a challenging economic climate for entrepreneurs, it is offering an extra incentive to contractors who choose to invest in a RotoTop this year. Anyone who orders a RotoTop until December 31, 2025, and takes out a loan for it can have the proven interest costs reimbursed for the first 12 months.
The solution has also been a hit in other parts of Europe. Moser & Co. from South Tyrol in Italy has been using the RotoTop to good effect in projects for two years. The business operates a gravel works and carries out a range of earthworks, civil engineering, demolition, transport as well as road and path construction work.
Stefan Hugo has been working as an operator at Moser for over eight years. He operates a 15-tonne Volvo EWR150, which was equipped with the RotoTop RT.201 in 2023. He said, “We do all kinds of earthworks and civil engineering work for our customers, whether it’s road construction, slope stabilisation or building homes and outdoor facilities. Since I’ve had the RotoTop on the excavator I manage tasks much faster.”
Prior to the purchase, Stefan gathered information about the RotoTop from various sources and travelled with MD Gebhard Mahlknecht to the test arena at Holp in Germany. After an initial explanation and demonstration, a decision was made to invest in the product.
“The basic principle was immediately clear; the operation worked intuitively and automatically to me,” Stefan explained. “You find out a lot in the process of working. You realise how flexibly you can work in all directions. In many situations on site, you used to have to do a lot of manual labour or use some kind of trick. Now I get there with the excavator and do the work almost exclusively with the help of the excavator.”
Stefan benefits from the precise working method the RotoTop enables when laying pipes, enabling trenches to be excavated and backfilled along existing pipes without any problems.
“The whole system is really compact and robust,” he stated. “The RotoTop can do everything: slow and fast turns or even long, challenging work with different buckets and hammers. The provided flexibility and the oil flow to the attachment are unbeatable.”
Stefan even uses his excavator for winter service and moves mountains of snow with his RotoTop on the excavator arm. Moser MD Gebhard Mahlknecht now wants all new excavators purchased by the firm to be equipped with a RotoTop.
