Hyundai HW 150A Wheeled Excavator Big Power in Small Spaces
February 8, 2025
Established over 30 years ago in Tiverton, Devon, the John Luffman Group is a multi-disciplinary company offering a wide range of construction, earthmoving, crushing and screening services. With a reputation built on delivering a quality service, the company has grown steadily over the last three decades to become one of the leading contractors across the South East working for Blue Chip clients from private companies, multi-national developers, and large house builders. Much of their work comes in on a repeat basis thanks to their open and honest approach to delivering a project.
Undertaking such a wide range of operations has seen the company run a variety of machinery, including wheeled excavators and crawler excavators. Recent times, however, have seen a shift towards purchasing more equipment from a single source, Molson Group. “We have had a long-standing relationship with the Molson team and have always had some of their kit in the fleet.” John Luffman commented. “As times have moved on and Molson’s product ranges have expanded, we have added that kit wherever it has suited our needs.”
John and his team have been long-term users of the Hyundai products sold by Molson and have, over the years, run many of the different series of both crawler excavators and wheeled excavators including the latest HX series. “We like the Hyundai for several reasons. They are a well-made and reliable machine, really powerful diggers and when it comes to operator comfort, the new cabs on the HX series are really hard to beat.” He comments.
Whilst crawler excavators make up a large proportion of the fleet, Luffman has always had a mid-sized wheeled excavator available for undertaking works on finished surfaces and out on the carriageways of the local road network as they are one of the primary contractors for undertaking road maintenance in the region. With their existing HW140 looking to be replaced, John naturally looked at the wider market for comparisons and whilst there were some good contenders out there, excellent service and back up from the Molson team at Avonmouth and a solid reliable product from Hyundai, led him to choose the latest large, wheeled excavator in the Hyundai range, the HW150A CR.
The Hyundai range of wheeled excavators has been constantly evolving currently with eight models in the range with operating weights from 6 to 21 tonnes. Having already owned the HW140A with a standard tail swing, the choice of the compact radius model was taken as a large number of John’s machines on tracks are also heading that way. “Sites are getting tighter and having the ability to put larger machines into some of these situations gives us the ability to undertake works we would usually have to do with smaller machines.” John explained. “There is also the huge safety benefit in using a compact radius machine. Having a reduced rear end ensures operatives and objects are far less likely to come into contact with the machine as it slews around.”
The standard undercarriage on the HW150A CR wheeled excavator is fitted with a sturdy dozer blade to the rear, but he way in which the undercarriage is designed allows either a set of outriggers or as second dozer blade to be simply bolted on at the other end adding to the machine’s versatility. John has opted for the former addition which brings the machine’s weight up to a mighty 18.3 tonnes. A nice touch from Hyundai is the fitment of wheel arches to both axles keeping the bodywork and cab windows clean when traveling across site.
The compact upper structure of the HW150A wheeled excavator houses the tried and trusted B4.5 Cummins engine. Now in its fourth decade of continuous improvement, the engine features an EGR-free design for increased fuel economy and longer maintenance intervals, contributing to a reduced cost of operation, something any owner and operator wants to hear. The HW150A wheeled excavator features Hyundai’s LUDV Load Sensing hydraulic system which allows for multi-functional operations to be conducted simultaneously. The machine’s regular operator, Mark Taylor, has had plenty of Hyundai experience in his 14 years with the Luffman team and rates the new duck very highly for its power and user friendliness. “I’ve had a HX220 and the previous HW140 and whilst the HX220 crawler excavator was an unbelievable digging machine, this new duck is just something else!” He comments. “It’s a powerful digger but when you need that fine control, you have it. I think it’s a great machine to operate, so smooth and refined.”
Mark is also very complimentary about the cab on the HX series. “It’s a big cab, despite it being a compact tail swing machine. You jump in some of the other compact machines on the market and they feel cramped straight away, this doesn’t. I’ve got plenty of room front, back and sides and it is so well laid out too. Hyundai have done a great job on this.” The integrated monitor allows Mark to keep an eye on the machine’s vital statistics throughout the day and now incorporates an ECO gauge to help operators to reduce emissions and running costs by constantly monitoring efficiency. It constantly displays the engine workload and fuel-saving status while the machine is working. The same screen can be set to use the optional AAVM camera system which is fitted to the machine giving him a bird’s eye view of the machine and the immediate area around it.
At the business end of the machine, John has opted for the 4.7m two-piece boom
(a standard mono boom version is also available) and has paired it with the standard 2.45m stick. Whilst the machine currently carries a Geith quick coupler, John has ordered an Engcon tiltrotator which was due to be fitted within a couple of weeks. “We are seeing the versatility of these attachments and the value that they can add to a machine and a project.” John commented. With Mark and the Hyundai undertaking regular projects on the road networks, an Xwatch height and slew restrictor has also been added to the impressive specification.
As previously mentioned, John has been a long-term customer of Molson Equipment. “We have had many years of dealing with the team at Avonmouth and have come to appreciate their levels of service and back up.” He commented. “They are only a phone call away and will always endeavour to get any issues sorted immediately. We can’t fault them for their customer focussed approach.”
The site on which Mark was operating was a typical tight affair as it was ending. The developer had constructed a new DIY outlet and whilst undertaking work on an adjacent plot of land, was in the process of preparing the finished unit for tarmacing. This meant that Mark and his Hyundai were undertaking a variety of operations from filling dumpers with stone for backfilling a road crossing, unloading vehicles delivering balustrading and moving fence panels and barricades from the car park to the adjacent site. “I love the variety of work operating a duck brings.” Mark said. “You do get everything thrown at you and some days have very little time to think, but the days go by so quickly. I was asked if I would go back onto the HX220 crawler excavator and unless John sold the machine, I’m staying on the wheels for now!”
