A lonely former Soviet army base in the Czech Republic saw Develon stage its first demo days, hosting over 600 customers to the event. CPN was there.
The drizzly, dog days of summer – the end of September to be precise – saw 600 customers and press undertake a magical mystery tour through the Czech countryside as guests of Develon, formerly Doosan Construction Equipment, which was hosting its first demo days under its new(ish) name.
The mystery deepened on nearing the demo site as the approach road was flanked by, first, burnt out tanks, then artillery pieces and, finally, we were confronted by a rusting helicopter and a grounded MIG fighter jet.
As above, the unusual location was an abandoned Soviet army base, established along with two others nearby, in response to (then) Czechoslovakia’s nascent freedom movement and mass protests in 1968. As the current owner put it, not at all ironically: “We were very lucky in 1968 when the Russians sent 50,000 aides to Czechia to help cure us from the infection of western democracy.” His father bought the site lock, stock and barrel – including all the armour and thousands of rounds of ammunition (since donated to Ukraine) – when the Soviet Union collapsed; and now he and his dad use it to display their collection of military vehicles and vintage cars.
Autonomous first
The spirit of ‘68 could be felt on the day as Develon followed the Czech tradition of asserting independence and free thinking with the introduction of a number of new machines among the 25 available for testing. Almost certainly the highlight of the visit was the first demonstration of autonomous equipment from a new collaboration between Develon and Gravis Robotics. The partnership aims to combine both companies’ expertise in AI-powered excavation and construction equipment technology to accelerate the development of safe, productive, sustainable and predictive autonomous excavation solutions. Also appearing for the first time was a new aftermarket 3D machine control solution for the Develon DX225LC-7X ‘smart’ crawler excavator, jointly developed by Develon and Leica Geosystems.
The excavator features full electric hydraulic (FEH) technology and an integrated 2D machine guidance and machine control system as standard equipment. In order to enhance this efficiency, the two companies have worked together to offer the Leica MC1 3D machine guidance system as a retrofit, specifically engineered to integrate seamlessly with the Develon 2D sensors and calibrations on the DX225LC-7X.
The new DD130-7 model is Develon’s first foray into the European dozer market. One of the biggest differences between the DD130-7 and other dozer brands, claims the company, is the visibility the DD130-7 provides of the machine’s dozer blade. To facilitate this, the front engine compartment offers a narrower design and this is combined with several other features to make it easier for operators to see their work.
Another premiere was the new 4×4 version of the DA45-7 articulated dump truck (ADT). The model is intended to compete with rigid dump trucks (RDTs) in the 40-tonne class and complements the current market-leading range of Stage V compliant 6×6 ADTs from Doosan, which includes the DA30-7 and DA45-7 models with payloads of 28 and 41 tonne, respectively.
Minis galore
Other new machines that were available for the first time included the DX10Z-7 1 tonne zero tail swing mini excavator, which provides improved performance compared to the previous DX10Z model it replaces, as does the DX19-7 1.9 tonne conventional Stage V compliant mini excavator. Complementing these, the 2 tonne DX20ZE-7 electric mini excavator combines low noise and zero emissions with the features and performance enhancements that are found on the next-generation DX-7 series family of mini excavators. Other machines on show included the latest versions of the crawler excavator range up to 53 tonne and the Develon DL-7 wheel loader range. The updated mid-range machines in the DL-7 range were represented by the DL250-7 model, presenting new features soon to be available throughout the DL-7 range. Completing the array of firsts were the DL80 and DL85 compact wheel loaders.
