Innovative Iron Awards: Toro and Vermeer Compact Tool Carriers
Exploration is the engine that drives innovation, so let’s go exploring. Let’s search through a year’s worth of creative ideas in the off-highway equipment industry and see if we can benchmark the innovative exploration of the American machine market. Over the last 12 months, global manufacturers from Caterpillar to Kubota have released compact machines that have set new standards for power, versatility, efficiency and design. Our editors have traveled across the globe to meet these manufacturers, operate their new products and give detailed reports and opinions both in print and on our website (compactequip.com). We sifted through the hundreds of models and brands released in 2015 and picked 19 units that set the bar for innovation. With this article, we salute those companies (from Komatsu to Case) that have changed the commercial equipment market over the last year with their unique, interesting and innovative machines, engines and technologies.
Toro and Vermeer Bring a New Lifting Pattern to CTCs
Skid steers come in radial- and vertical-lift formats. Vertical-lift units are specifically engineered to allow the machine arms to lift higher fully extended, reaching into the back of trucks (great for loader and pallet work). Toro and Vermeer were the first manufacturers to introduce vertical lift to the compact tool carrier market this year. The Toro Dingo TX 1000 has a rated operating capacity exceeding 1,000 lbs, which is the strongest in the category. When the loader arms are fully-extended, the hinge pin measures an impressive 81 in. from the ground to allow the TX 1000 to easily reach over the side of dumpsters and 1-ton trucks to maximize jobsite productivity.
The Vermeer CTX50 boasts a 600-lb ISO-rated operating capacity and a tipping capacity of 1,715 lbs due to its vertical-lifting path. The vertical-lift path is designed to keep the load closer to the machine, allowing it to lift more than a similar-sized compact tool carrier with a radial-lift path. A vertical-lift path also provides a higher lift height. These enhancements along with the Vermeer exclusive single pilot-operated joystick and stand-on platform make the CTX50 a game-changer in the rental and landscape market.
To see the rest of Compact Equipment’s Innovative Iron Awards, click this link.
