The first Wumag WT1000 to arrive in Australia

The first Wumag WT1000 to arrive in Australia has joined the fleet of LinCon Hire. The company has been running several Wumag Palfinger access platforms from the Jumbo range for a number of years, now LinConHire has expanded its range of services acquiring 100m, all-terrain, truck mounted access platform.

A maintenance job on the wire cables of a dragline excavator southwest of Mackay in Queensland was the first job for the WT1000. The job was carried out for a large coal mining company and although the assignment took only a few hours, it was nevertheless easier and quicker to set up a WT 1000 than commission a large crane with fly jib attachment and counterweights.

The WT 1000 is notable for of its all-terrain mobility. It is based on a chassis from Tadano Faun, which means it can makes cope with most ground conditions. Four driven axles, eight-wheel steering and a 530 HP engine are designed to ensure rapid, safe advancement on any ground despite an overall weight of 60t. The machine's first Australian assignment demonstrated the all-terrain ability of the chassis allowing the machine to get close to the bucket excavator .The combination of working height and outreach meant it was possible to reach all the maintenance points without having to reposition the WT 1000.

Dragline excavators are equipped with an open bucket that is linked to the end of a long boom by means of a wire cable. The bucket is dragged along the ground using the wire cable until it is full of earth which is then unloaded in a different place. Dragline excavators are mainly used to dig deep holes in the mining industry.