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  1. Compact Equipment Magazine
  2. Mini Excavators

Mini Excavators

These Popular Mini Diggers Are Also Awesome Tool Carriers

The mini or compact excavator segment stands as one of the hottest machine markets in U.S. construction equipment. Its popularity stems from its versatility and size. Operators can easily transport mini excavators, and these machines handle a variety of onsite applications. These include digging basements, burying downspouts, compacting soil, trenching service lines or grappling obscenely big, decorative rocks. Manufacturers define these units as excavators under 8 metric tons. Designers equip them with an undercarriage and tracks, a long digging arm, and a cab or ROPS enclosure. With dig depths ranging between 5 and 15 ft+ and operating weights between 2,000 and 20,000 lbs, compact excavators maneuver into cramped worksites while delivering impressive digging power.

The 3.5- to 4-metric-ton class continues to drive growth in the compact hydraulic excavator market, especially in rental, while the 5- to 6-metric-ton size class gains momentum. Conventional-style compact excavators share the spotlight with minimum and zero tail swing designs. Zero tail swing (ZTS), which ensures the cab stays within the width of the tracks, remains a popular choice. Beyond their many features — such as enclosed cabs, backfill blades, extendable sticks and retractable undercarriages — mini excavators can equip a wide range of attachments to tackle tasks beyond digging, including hydraulic thumbs, breakers, specialty buckets, augers, grapples and mowers. Recent trends in the category include commercially available electric and hybrid variants as well as machine control systems for grading and digging. Examples of mini excavators include:

Takeuchi’s TB Mini Excavators | Caterpillar’s Next Gen Mini Excavators | Kubota’s K, KX and U Compact Excavators

Dig It: Takeuchi Launches TB250-2 Compact Hydraulic Excavator
CE Staff
January 21, 2019
Read Article
Mini Excavators
Volvo CE Goes Electric on Smaller Machines
January 17, 2019
Features cat
Innovative Iron Awards: Caterpillar’s Smallest Mini Ex Models Redefine Deluxe Standards
December 10, 2018
Features jcb
Innovative Iron Awards: Excellence in Excavation — JCB Focuses on Rental and Bobcat Releases Its Biggest Mini Yet
December 7, 2018
Mini Excavators volvo ce
Innovative Iron Awards: Volvo CE’s Electric LX2 Compact Wheel Loader and EX2 Mini Excavator
December 5, 2018
Compact Track Loaders
CASE and Luby Equipment Support Team Rubicon in Training/Prairie Mitigation Project

CASE Construction Equipment, and heavy equipment dealer Luby Equipment, provided training support and donated the use of skid steers, compac...

November 8, 2018
Mini Excavators
Friday Fun: Volvo CE Creates Hilariously Awesome Video with Dolph Lundgren and Its Excavators

The Volvo brand has a history of getting ‘80s action stars to be in awesome promotional videos for its products. Do we need to remind ...

October 26, 2018
Mini Excavators
Caterpillar Releases Next Generation of Small Mini Excavators with Standard Premium Features like an LCD monitor and...

Four new models in the Cat mini hydraulic excavator lineup, engineered and manufactured by Caterpillar, are designed to provide users the be...

October 22, 2018
Mini Excavators Case
Compact Excavators Get Summarized in our 2018 Spec Guide

Over the past two decades, the small, tool-carrier excavator has found its home in the American construction equipment fleet. It’s a m...

October 17, 2018
Mini Excavators Hyundai
Hyundai Excavators Summarized — 2018 Spec Guide

The 9A Series Combines Performance, Convenience, Serviceability and Safety Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas introduced its first comp...

October 17, 2018
Mini Excavators Wacker Neuson
Wacker Neuson Excavators Summarized — 2018 Spec Guide

14 Excavators Engineered with Unique Tech like the Vertical Digging System Wacker Neuson introduced its compact excavators to the North Amer...

October 16, 2018
Mini Excavators Yanmar
Yanmar Excavators Summarized — 2018 Spec Guide

Celebrating 50 Years of Making Excavators in 2018 Not only does this year mark the 50th anniversary of Yanmar’s first excavator, Yanma...

October 16, 2018
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